Happy birthday to Anna Jarvis, born in 1864! She helped create Mother’s Day as an international peace movement and then fought to make it a national holiday in the United States. After her mother’s death, Jarvis took a controversial step. She dedicated herself to live out her mother’s unfulfilled dream of a special day to honor mothers all around the world. It wasn’t until 1914 her dedication was rewarded. It was not until President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill that Mother’s Day became an official national holiday.
Jarvis’s mother was a lifelong community health champion. She envisioned a day that would commemorate the sacrifice and contributions of every mother. Driven by that vision, Jarvis worked non-stop for official adoption of Mother’s Day. She continued to promote her message with vigor on the Hill for years. Her tireless dedication paid off when the holiday was finally recognized, creating an important moment in American culture.
Jarvis’s relationship with the holiday she founded grew more fraught as time went on. She opposed the commercialization that rapidly took over Mother’s Day, which featured inflated price flowers and pricey greeting cards. Jarvis had a deep contempt for these practices. In 1905, she boldly proclaimed, “This is the wrong spirit,” as she expressed her distress that the holiday had strayed from its true purpose.
Jarvis was fiercely against commercialization, protesting flower companies and florists who charged excessive prices. Her activism would eventually get her arrested, charged with public disturbances. Her activism grew even more radical as she publicly attacked mainstream leaders, including the likes of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. She sincerely believed that co-opting Mother’s Day to advance any larger social agenda would rob the day of its personal meaning.
Jarvis’s determination to communicate the real spirit of the holiday was fierce. She never married or had children, and died in 1948. Her family’s legacy echoes her sentiments. Jane Unkefer, a descendant of Jarvis, recalls, “Our mother always said, ‘Every day is Mother’s Day.’” This point of view really emphasizes the idea that celebrations of mothers need to go beyond one day a year on the calendar.
Jarvis’s journey was not without turmoil. Her fight to end the commercialization of Mother’s Day consumed much of her later life. Others even characterized this fixation as driving her to turn “mad.” She labeled those profiting from the holiday as “charlatans, bandits, pirates, racketeers, kidnappers and termites,” illustrating her deep frustration.
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