Mother’s Day: A Time to Celebrate, Reflect, and Remember


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.

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One thought on “Mother’s Day: A Time to Celebrate, Reflect, and Remember

  1. Great memory! Oh, how I miss my mother. It’s been 29 yrs since she gained her heavenly wings. But mama lives in my heart every day. She was the greatest mother ever to 11 children. She knew the right words and affection needed for each child without sacrificing attention or love for the other children. A true one-of-a-kind mother for so many unspoken reasons. Mama promised us that she would be with us for Mother’s Day, 1996, after her cancer diagnosis in December 1994, we threw a huge Mother’s Day celebration in May 1995. Mom kept her word. She lived to see Mother’s Day, 1996 and transitioned one week later. Her prophetic words of life and not death and then willed herself to live one week after Mother’s Day, always makes this remembrance and celebration all the more important to me.

    So, Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers who either birthed a child or who poured (and continue to pour) tirelessly into children to enrich their lives. May the love and compassion of God continue to be your guiding light! 💜

    1. Thank you for taking the time to read our publication. The comments that we receive on the work that we are doing gives us the encouragement and motivation to continue. Please continue to read and to share your thoughts.

      If there are things of particular interest to you, please let us know. We will do everything possible to make sure that we get it covered.

  2. This article was very beautifully written. The love and sincerity in your words reflect the wonderful gifts that your Mother has given, and continues to give, to you.

    My mother died during childbirth when I was just under two years old. I had an older brother and sister at the time. Various aunts and uncles offered to take each one of us, but my widowed grandmother stepped up and said, “These children will not be raised apart,” and at the age of 57, she became the mother of a 7 year old, a 3 year old, and a 20 month old. She was the only mother we ever knew, and raised us with values and faith as though we were her very own.

    This article reflects so much of how I felt about her every day of her life.

    Mr. Kirby, I have no doubt that you recognize how fortunate you and your brothers are to still have your Mother with you. And yes, watching the decline is difficult, no doubt, but she is indeed there. How so many of us long to be able to share a hug or kiss with our precious mothers. You are truly blessed.

    Ms. Jarvis was amazing in her passion and desire to ensure that this holiday was indeed dedicated to all mothers, separately and individually; but also to Mothers in general, whether by birth, adoption, guardianship, marriage, or by their natural maternal instincts to care about all children, whether there was a familial tie or not. Praise to you, Madame Jarvis. And Happy Mother’s Day to all Moms!

    1. Thank you for your kind words and for taking the time to read our publication. We extend our condolences for your loss. Your words tell us that your grandmother did a fantastic job rearing you, your brother, and your sister.

      We invite you to continue reading our publication and submitting comments. Please let us know if there are issues or current events you would like to see the TSJ cover. We want to become one of the publications you look to daily for news and inspiration.

  3. Thank you for sharing. Over the last few weeks I have learned quite a bit about the founder and how Mother’s Day began and was process to be a national holiday. Reminding us to unite and take advantage of the time to celebrate and be celebrated as Mothers. To reflect on and remember those that are no longer here on this earth with us physically but who has carved a lasting legacy of love in our hearts of the Mothers they were.

  4. This Mother’s Day reflection and education reminded me of how important mothers are to the success of our lives and our country. It also reminded me of why our mothers are loved so deeply and never forgotten. They live in our hearts.

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