by Imani Collins-Morgan '21
Mother's Day is a special day to honor all of the mothers who have taken care of us and love us unconditionally. Mothers are willing to sacrifice for their children in order for them to have a happy and long life. This year, Mother's Day was celebrated on May 12. This international holiday started in the 1900s because Anna Jarvis wanted to honor the sacrifices that mothers made for their children. In May 1908, she organized the first official Mother's Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia and thousands of people attended it. Following the success of her first Mother's Day, she strove to add Mother's Day on the national calendar. She started a massive letter writing campaign to the newspaper and prominent politicians urging adoption of the special day. By 1912, many states, towns, and churches had adopted the day as an annual holiday, and Anna established the Mother's Day International Association to help promote her cause. Her persistence paid off in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing Mother's Day as the second Sunday of May.