What is honored in a land will be cultivated there Plato
When we think of those with great influence of the 20th century, the name Anna M. Jarvis might not come to mind. Yet people remember her impact annually in the United States, and many countries recognized it worldwide.
Every spring we celebrate the legacy of honor she sought to cultivate. MotherÕs Day is her chief contribution to our society. This holiday occurs the second Sunday in May remembering mothers for their service and contributions to humanity in every field.
Although MotherÕs Day is one of the most widely celebrated annual holidays, Americans did not originate the idea to honor oneÕs mother. In ancient Greek and Roman societies people held festivals to honor mothers. The Ten Commandments exhorted the Israelites to Òhonor your father and mother.Ó During the Middle Ages Christians honored Mary, JesusÕ mother, with annual observances. In the former Yugoslavia, Dec. 6 marked the day when people honored their mothers. ÒMothering Sunday,Ó the fourth Sunday of Lent, carried a similar expression of adoration for the English.
From Civil War times up through the early 1900s, several people sought to establish MotherÕs Day in the United States. But it was the persistent and diligent efforts of Anna Jarvis that brought her the fame of establishing the holiday.
Jarvis, born eighth of 11 children, grew up in Grafton, West Virginia. On May 9, 1907, two years after her mother died, Jarvis outlined the plans and step necessary to start a MotherÕs Day observance. The following year, May 10, 1908, her plans became a reality.
On the second Sunday in May, a special church service took place in the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church commemorating mothers. More than 400 children attended with their mothers. Jarvis provided white carnations for each of them.
MotherÕs Day popularity spread quickly because of her diligent work. She wrote hundreds of letters addressing business, religious, social and political leaders. Within three years, MotherÕs Day services occurred in every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, proclaimed the second Sunday in May as a day Òfor displaying the American flag, and as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.Ó
Today, more than 150 million MotherÕs Day cards and letters are sent each year to express gratitude for all the love, care and sacrifice children receive from their moms.
Honoring our parents and paying tribute to those who reared us is something God requires. We do not need a special holiday to express love and appreciation. But Plato was right. MotherÕs Day cultivates that spirit, and for that we thank Anna Jarvis.
Eli Perez, a neighborhood resident, works with Campus Crusade at Southern Methodist University and is completing a master of theology at Dallas Seminary. He and his wife, Karen, have three children.
