The Mothers Of Mother's Day

HOW DOES YOUR family celebrate Mother’s Day? Do you bring Mom breakfast in bed?

- Sharon Montgomery

Do you give her flowers, make her a card, or take her to a favorite restaurant? The original mother’s days were observed rather differently—as days to go out into the community to help the needy and to work for peace.

Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the words to the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” in 1862, was the first person to propose that the United States observe a national mother’s day. A mother herself as well as a social activist, she joined the U.S. Sanitary Commission during the American Civil War. In this organization, women played a leadership role working in the crowded army camps to improve unhealthy conditions that cost the lives of many soldiers. Following the war, Howe became a crusader for peace who championed the equality of all people, regardless of race, religion, or gender.

In 1870, Howe wrote the “Mothers’ Day Proclamation,” calling on mothers from all nations to work together for peace. Disgusted by the horrors of war, she pledged:

“Our husbands shall not come to us reeking of carnage for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy, and patience.” In June 1872, Howe organized Mothers’ Peace Day in Boston, which became an annual celebration in a number of cities. As well as trying to eliminate the causes of war, Peace Day advocates organized to improve working conditions in mines and mills, provide better education for poor children, and allow women to vote.

But Mothers’ Peace Day never became a national holiday. Mother’s Day as we now know it instead owes its origin to the efforts of Anna Jarvis, a dedicated daughter who wanted to honor her own mother, Ann.