By Milton Kirby | Charlotte, NC | May 10, 2025
Mother’s Day is one of the most widely celebrated holidays in the United States. It’s a time to honor the women who raise, guide, and support us. However, few people know that the woman who created Mother’s Day later tried to destroy it.
Anna Jarvis founded Mother’s Day in 1908. She created it to honor her mother, who had worked to improve the lives of other mothers. Anna never had children of her own, but she believed strongly that mothers deserved a special day of recognition. She organized the first official Mother’s Day events at her hometown church in Grafton, West Virginia, and also at a department store in Philadelphia, where she lived.
Jarvis wanted Mother’s Day to be personal—a day when sons and daughters showed love to their mothers. That’s why she insisted the holiday be spelled “Mother’s Day,” not “Mothers’ Day.” It was meant to honor one remarkable woman at a time.
By 1912, the holiday had caught on across the country. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill making the second Sunday in May the official day to celebrate mothers. But what followed shocked Jarvis. The holiday quickly became commercialized. Stores began selling flowers, candy, and cards in large numbers. Jarvis believed this ruined the spirit of what she had created.
She spent years—and most of her inheritance—trying to stop what she saw as the misuse of Mother’s Day. She filed lawsuits against businesses and organizations that used the name. In 1925, she was arrested for crashing a fundraiser where carnations were being sold. By the 1940s, Jarvis had entirely given up on the holiday and begged the government to remove it from the calendar. She died in 1948, poor and forgotten, in a sanitarium in Philadelphia.
Despite her efforts, Mother’s Day has only grown in popularity. An estimated $34.1 billion will be spent on Mother’s Day in 2025. Americans buy cards, flowers, clothes, candy, jewelry, and gadgets like smartphones and tablets to show their love. In 2015, the average person spent nearly $165 on Mother’s Day gifts.
But for many, Mother’s Day still holds deep meaning beyond the gifts.
For the past 20 years, my family has celebrated the day with dinner and togetherness. My five brothers and my niece—whom we’ve always treated like a sister—join friends and extended family to honor our Mom.
Our mother will turn 95 this September. Over the recent years, we’ve watched her change. Once a lively cook and doting mother, she now sometimes struggles to remember names and faces. For the past 18 months, I’ve traveled to North Carolina every four to six weeks to visit her. A little over a year ago, I stayed for almost a month to help care for her. I did the cooking and shopping, but most importantly, I shared time with her—laughing, listening, and simply being present.
Even as age, dementia, or Alzheimer’s try to chip away at her memory, she never forgets how to treat her sons equally. She keeps that part of her mind strong. She still lights up during these Mother’s Day gatherings, even if she is a little frustrated about the ride out. She also finds equal delight during visits from her longtime pastor, Reverend Ledbetter. They sit together, sing old Baptist hymns, and pray.
Mother’s Day is more than a holiday. It’s a chance to pause, reflect, and be grateful. Whether it’s a bouquet of flowers, a heartfelt hug, or just sitting in silence with the woman who raised you, it’s the love that matters most.
Let us never forget what Anna Jarvis tried to remind us—Mother’s Day is about honoring our mother, not just spending money. And for those of us still lucky enough to share a moment with her, that moment is the greatest gift of all.
Please consider supporting open, independent journalism – no contribution is too small!
