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[[Image:Mothersdayad1913.png|240 px|right|thumb|1913 advertisement in the Boston Globe]]  

[[Image:Mothersdayad1913.png|240 px|right|thumb|1913 advertisement in the Boston Globe]]  

In the United States, '''Mother's Day''' is held on the second Sunday in May. Customs include churchgoing,<ref>Kalas, J. Ellsworth (2004), ''Preaching the Calendar: Celebrating Holidays and Holy Days,'' ([http://books.google.com/books?id=QQpXwIt3ihAC&pg=PA76&ots=mlIDxskAwl&dq=%22third+only+to+Christmas+Eve+and+Easter%22&sig=GcM51tchhsueaID7zb2bsDpuAwo p. 76]), "church attendance on this day is likely to be third only to Christmas Eve and Easter"</ref> presenting mothers with gifts or taking them out to dinner, and wearing carnations (brightly-colored for living mothers, white in memory of deceased mothers).  

In the United States, '''Mother's Day''' is held on the second Sunday in May. Customs include churchgoing,<ref>Kalas, J. Ellsworth (2004), ''Preaching the Calendar: Celebrating Holidays and Holy Days,'' ([https://books.google.com/books?id=QQpXwIt3ihAC&pg=PA76&ots=mlIDxskAwl&dq=%22third+only+to+Christmas+Eve+and+Easter%22&sig=GcM51tchhsueaID7zb2bsDpuAwo p. 76]), "church attendance on this day is likely to be third only to Christmas Eve and Easter"</ref> presenting mothers with gifts or taking them out to dinner, and wearing carnations (brightly-colored for living mothers, white in memory of deceased mothers).  

It is the holiday on which the largest number of telephone calls are placed, the second most popular holiday dining out occasion,<ref>"Father's Day vs. Mother's Day," ''The Boston Herald,'' June 20, 1999</ref> and the fifth highest consumer spending season: $11.43 billion in 2006.<ref>Billions of USD: Halloween $3.29; St. Patrick's Day $3.80; Father's Day $8.23; Super Bowl $8.70; Mother's Day $11.43; Easter $14.37; Valentine's Day $16.90; Back to School/College $54.20; Winter Holidays[sic] $457.40. [http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Pages&sp_id=390 Annual Report], National Retail Federation: .xls file at "Consumer Holiday Spending Pie Chart" link</ref> A 2006 survey showed that 85% of all consumers planned to celebrate Mother's Day, and to spend an average of $120. About 85% planned to buy greeting cards, 70% flowers, 60% a meal at a restaurant, 30% clothing, 30% jewelry, and 30% gift certificates.<ref>[http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Pages&sp_id=390 Annual Report], National Retail Federation: .pdf file at "Mothers Day 2006" link. Total does not add to 100% because of multiple purchases.</ref>

It is the holiday on which the largest number of telephone calls are placed, the second most popular holiday dining out occasion,<ref>"Father's Day vs. Mother's Day," ''The Boston Herald,'' June 20, 1999</ref> and the fifth highest consumer spending season: $11.43 billion in 2006.<ref>Billions of USD: Halloween $3.29; St. Patrick's Day $3.80; Father's Day $8.23; Super Bowl $8.70; Mother's Day $11.43; Easter $14.37; Valentine's Day $16.90; Back to School/College $54.20; Winter Holidays[sic] $457.40. [http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Pages&sp_id=390 Annual Report], National Retail Federation: .xls file at "Consumer Holiday Spending Pie Chart" link</ref> A 2006 survey showed that 85% of all consumers planned to celebrate Mother's Day, and to spend an average of $120. About 85% planned to buy greeting cards, 70% flowers, 60% a meal at a restaurant, 30% clothing, 30% jewelry, and 30% gift certificates.<ref>[http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Pages&sp_id=390 Annual Report], National Retail Federation: .pdf file at "Mothers Day 2006" link. Total does not add to 100% because of multiple purchases.</ref>

In 1907, at her behest, the Andrews Methodist Church of Grafton, West Virginia to hold a "Mother’s Day service," which is sometimes regarded as the "first celebration of Mother's Day," and donated five hundred carnations for the mothers in the congregation to wear. Next year, the church officially proclaimed the date to be Mother’s Day, and Grafton florists sold out of carnations.<ref name=ah>Johnson, James P. (1979), "[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1979/3/1979_3_14.shtml How Mother Got Her Day],", ''American Heritage,'' '''30'''(1), April/May 1979: (Anna Reeves Jarvis' death on second Sunday of 1905, first "Mother's Day service" at Andrews Memorial Church of Grafton, Va, florists selling out of carnations the following year)</ref>  A 1915 book says that while planning the service,

In 1907, at her behest, the Andrews Methodist Church of Grafton, West Virginia to hold a "Mother’s Day service," which is sometimes regarded as the "first celebration of Mother's Day," and donated five hundred carnations for the mothers in the congregation to wear. Next year, the church officially proclaimed the date to be Mother’s Day, and Grafton florists sold out of carnations.<ref name=ah>Johnson, James P. (1979), "[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1979/3/1979_3_14.shtml How Mother Got Her Day],", ''American Heritage,'' '''30'''(1), April/May 1979: (Anna Reeves Jarvis' death on second Sunday of 1905, first "Mother's Day service" at Andrews Memorial Church of Grafton, Va, florists selling out of carnations the following year)</ref>  A 1915 book says that while planning the service,

:there came to her a realization of the growing lack of tender consideration for absent mothers among worldly-minded, busy, grown-up children; of the thoughtless neglect of home ties and loving consideration, engendered by the whirl and pressure of modern life; of the lack of respect and deference to parents among children of the present generation; and of the need for a reminder of the loving, unselfish mother, living or dead.<ref name=rice>Rice, Susan Tracey and Robert Haven Schauffler (1915), ''Mother's Day: Its History, Origin, Celebration, Spirit, and Significance as Related in Prose and Verse.'' New York: Moffat, Yard and Company. Anna Jarvis and Philadelphia, [http://books.google.com/books?id=pkAOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA6 p. 6]; Mother's Day bill in Congress, [http://books.google.com/books?id=pkAOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA4 pp. 4-5]</ref>

:there came to her a realization of the growing lack of tender consideration for absent mothers among worldly-minded, busy, grown-up children; of the thoughtless neglect of home ties and loving consideration, engendered by the whirl and pressure of modern life; of the lack of respect and deference to parents among children of the present generation; and of the need for a reminder of the loving, unselfish mother, living or dead.<ref name=rice>Rice, Susan Tracey and Robert Haven Schauffler (1915), ''Mother's Day: Its History, Origin, Celebration, Spirit, and Significance as Related in Prose and Verse.'' New York: Moffat, Yard and Company. Anna Jarvis and Philadelphia, [https://books.google.com/books?id=pkAOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA6 p. 6]; Mother's Day bill in Congress, [https://books.google.com/books?id=pkAOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA4 pp. 4-5]</ref>

Jarvis sought to make it a national celebration. It was not smooth going at first; in 1908 the Senate poked fun at a resolution to institute Mothers' Day.<ref>The position of the apostrophe varies; older sources tend to put it after the ''s,'' modern usage puts it before the ''s.''</ref> One senator feared it would lead to special days in honor of "sisters and the cousins and the aunts,",<ref>Doubtless a reference to a song in H. M. S. Pinafore, in which the head of the Navy goes everywhere accompanied by "his sisters and his cousins and his aunts." The senator's objection is a good example of a [[slippery slope]] argument.</ref> another moved to substitute the Fifth Commandment, and another said that if it passed the Senate should also recognize a Grandmothers' Day.<ref>Against a Mothers'[sic] Day. Senate Pokes Fun at Senator Burkett's Resolution Calling For One. ''The New York Times,'' May 10, 1908, p. 7</ref> Nevertheless, the tradition spread to other cities, and by 1910 it had been adopted by most states.<ref>"Mothers'[sic] Day" ''The Boston Daily Globe,'' May 11, 1911, p. 12: "On Sunday next Mothers' day will be celebrated for the second time in the United States.... [The suggestion of] Miss Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia that a day be set aside for throughout the country to honor mothers was quickly adopted in most states."</ref> In 1913 the House of Representatives passed a resolution calling for federal officials to wear white carnations on Mother's Day.

Jarvis sought to make it a national celebration. It was not smooth going at first; in 1908 the Senate poked fun at a resolution to institute Mothers' Day.<ref>The position of the apostrophe varies; older sources tend to put it after the ''s,'' modern usage puts it before the ''s.''</ref> One senator feared it would lead to special days in honor of "sisters and the cousins and the aunts,",<ref>Doubtless a reference to a song in H. M. S. Pinafore, in which the head of the Navy goes everywhere accompanied by "his sisters and his cousins and his aunts." The senator's objection is a good example of a [[slippery slope]] argument.</ref> another moved to substitute the Fifth Commandment, and another said that if it passed the Senate should also recognize a Grandmothers' Day.<ref>Against a Mothers'[sic] Day. Senate Pokes Fun at Senator Burkett's Resolution Calling For One. ''The New York Times,'' May 10, 1908, p. 7</ref> Nevertheless, the tradition spread to other cities, and by 1910 it had been adopted by most states.<ref>"Mothers'[sic] Day" ''The Boston Daily Globe,'' May 11, 1911, p. 12: "On Sunday next Mothers' day will be celebrated for the second time in the United States.... [The suggestion of] Miss Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia that a day be set aside for throughout the country to honor mothers was quickly adopted in most states."</ref> In 1913 the House of Representatives passed a resolution calling for federal officials to wear white carnations on Mother's Day.

Mother's Day may be related to ''Mothering Sunday,'' celebrated in England on the fourth Sunday of Lent. The term did not originally refer to motherhood. On Mothering Sunday, English Catholics instead of attending services in the local parish church, were supposed to travel to their "Mother Church," i.e. the cathedral of the diocese. Later, it became an occasion for children to visit their parents.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/motheringsunday_1.shtml Mothering Sunday], BBC</ref> An 1854 source says the change occurred at the time of the Reformation. It mentions a couplet:

Mother's Day may be related to ''Mothering Sunday,'' celebrated in England on the fourth Sunday of Lent. The term did not originally refer to motherhood. On Mothering Sunday, English Catholics instead of attending services in the local parish church, were supposed to travel to their "Mother Church," i.e. the cathedral of the diocese. Later, it became an occasion for children to visit their parents.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/motheringsunday_1.shtml Mothering Sunday], BBC</ref> An 1854 source says the change occurred at the time of the Reformation. It mentions a couplet:

:On ''Mothering Sunday,'' above all other

:On ''Mothering Sunday,'' above all other

:Every child should dine with its mother.<ref>Baker, Anne Elizabeth (1854), ''Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and Phrases," J. R. Smith, [http://books.google.com/books?id=_Fstx92Z5tcC&pg=PA33&as_brr=1#PPA33,M1 p. 33]</ref>

:Every child should dine with its mother.<ref>Baker, Anne Elizabeth (1854), ''Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and Phrases," J. R. Smith, [https://books.google.com/books?id=_Fstx92Z5tcC&pg=PA33&as_brr=1#PPA33,M1 p. 33]</ref>

An 1867 source, however, says that "the processions ceased in the thirteenth century, but the name Mothering Sunday has continued, and throughout many parts of England this title has been the cause of the Sunday being the great family gathering, when all the scattered members return home and spend the day, and bring a present to their mother." The traditional gift was a "simnel cake" made of flour colored with saffron and flavored with sugar and lemon. Even in 1867, commercialism had raised its ugly head: the source complains that "the beauty of the custom is now lost by the simnel cakes being sold in shops."<ref>''E. Littel's Living Age,'' Fourth Series, Volume VI, July, August, September 1867; Boston, Littell and Gay. [http://books.google.com/books?id=AAbzpEOb3dUC&pg=PA725&as_brr=1 p. 725]</ref>

An 1867 source, however, says that "the processions ceased in the thirteenth century, but the name Mothering Sunday has continued, and throughout many parts of England this title has been the cause of the Sunday being the great family gathering, when all the scattered members return home and spend the day, and bring a present to their mother." The traditional gift was a "simnel cake" made of flour colored with saffron and flavored with sugar and lemon. Even in 1867, commercialism had raised its ugly head: the source complains that "the beauty of the custom is now lost by the simnel cakes being sold in shops."<ref>''E. Littel's Living Age,'' Fourth Series, Volume VI, July, August, September 1867; Boston, Littell and Gay. [https://books.google.com/books?id=AAbzpEOb3dUC&pg=PA725&as_brr=1 p. 725]</ref>

In recent years, the observance of Mothering Sunday has come to resemble that of Mother's Day in the U. S., and is often referred to as "Mother's Day."

In recent years, the observance of Mothering Sunday has come to resemble that of Mother's Day in the U. S., and is often referred to as "Mother's Day."

===Julia Ward Howe's June 2nd "Mother's Day"===

===Julia Ward Howe's June 2nd "Mother's Day"===

[[Julia Ward Howe]], author of [[Battle Hymn of the Republic]], had earlier attempted to found a "Mother's Day" to be celebrated on June 2. It was not a celebration of motherhood, but a call for mothers to oppose war. Her 1870 ''Appeal to Womanhood Through the World'' said, in part:

[[Julia Ward Howe]], author of [[Battle Hymn of the Republic]], had earlier attempted to found a "Mother's Day" to be celebrated on June 2. It was not a celebration of motherhood, but a call for mothers to oppose war. Her 1870 ''Appeal to Womanhood Through the World'' said, in part:

:Arise, all women who have hearts! Whether your baptism be of water or of tears! Say firmly: "We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with 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...." From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!.<ref>Elliott, Maud (Howe) and Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards (1915), ''Julia Ward Howe, 1819-1910'',  Houghton Mifflin, Boston, [http://books.google.com/books?id=LHqjEYLKPfYC&pg=RA11-PA302 p. 302]</ref>

:Arise, all women who have hearts! Whether your baptism be of water or of tears! Say firmly: "We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies. Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with 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...." From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!.<ref>Elliott, Maud (Howe) and Laura Elizabeth Howe Richards (1915), ''Julia Ward Howe, 1819-1910'',  Houghton Mifflin, Boston, [https://books.google.com/books?id=LHqjEYLKPfYC&pg=RA11-PA302 p. 302]</ref>

Howe's Mother's Day was celebrated in eighteen cities in 1873, and in Boston for at least ten years; but it was dependent on Howe's personal financial sponsorship and eventually died out.<ref>[http://womenshistory.about.com/od/mothersday/a/jwh.htm Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day for Piece], about.com</ref>  

Howe's Mother's Day was celebrated in eighteen cities in 1873, and in Boston for at least ten years; but it was dependent on Howe's personal financial sponsorship and eventually died out.<ref>[http://womenshistory.about.com/od/mothersday/a/jwh.htm Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day for Piece], about.com</ref>  

Scarcely had the ink dried on Wilson's proclamation when a letter signed "Justice" appeared in the New York Times complaining that "Ever since the beginning of the Mother's Day movement I have felt that an injustice has been done&mdash;unintentionally, of course&mdash;to our fathers. There are many fathers who are worthy of honor as well as mothers. Therefore, we should celebrate a day for Father's Day."<ref>"A Fathers' Day" Suggested. ''The New York Times,'' June 11, 1914, p. 10</ref> This drew an ironic reply a few days later from correspondent "More Justice," suggesting the addition of Brother's Day, Sister's Day, Grandpa's Day, Grandma's Day, Uncle's Day, Maiden Aunty's Day, Cousin's Day, Baby's Day, Household Pet Day, and "Slush Day," with suggested dates and buttonhole flowers for each.<ref>"Holidays for All: Including Grandma, Aunty, Baby, and the Household Pet." ''The New York Times,'' June 14, 1914, p. 14</ref>

Scarcely had the ink dried on Wilson's proclamation when a letter signed "Justice" appeared in the New York Times complaining that "Ever since the beginning of the Mother's Day movement I have felt that an injustice has been done&mdash;unintentionally, of course&mdash;to our fathers. There are many fathers who are worthy of honor as well as mothers. Therefore, we should celebrate a day for Father's Day."<ref>"A Fathers' Day" Suggested. ''The New York Times,'' June 11, 1914, p. 10</ref> This drew an ironic reply a few days later from correspondent "More Justice," suggesting the addition of Brother's Day, Sister's Day, Grandpa's Day, Grandma's Day, Uncle's Day, Maiden Aunty's Day, Cousin's Day, Baby's Day, Household Pet Day, and "Slush Day," with suggested dates and buttonhole flowers for each.<ref>"Holidays for All: Including Grandma, Aunty, Baby, and the Household Pet." ''The New York Times,'' June 14, 1914, p. 14</ref>

During the 1920s and 1930s, there were rallies in New York's Central Park for the cause of renaming Mother's Day to "Parents' Day." The movement, led by one Robert Spere, died out in 1940; an historian suggests that the business community killed it, because "Mother's Day followed by Father's Day was too perfect a setup financially to allow something as gender-nonspecific as Parent's Day to muck things up."<ref>LaRossa, Ralph (1997), ''The Modernization of Fatherhood: A Social and Political History,'' University of Chicago Press, [http://books.google.com/books?id=_HX0Xyq3ktEC&pg=PA26&ots=WP8VLTGdNI&sig=d4WJZS0aGMgT-zZYhpuVrZ_LyeU#PPA27,M1 p. 26]</ref>

During the 1920s and 1930s, there were rallies in New York's Central Park for the cause of renaming Mother's Day to "Parents' Day." The movement, led by one Robert Spere, died out in 1940; an historian suggests that the business community killed it, because "Mother's Day followed by Father's Day was too perfect a setup financially to allow something as gender-nonspecific as Parent's Day to muck things up."<ref>LaRossa, Ralph (1997), ''The Modernization of Fatherhood: A Social and Political History,'' University of Chicago Press, [https://books.google.com/books?id=_HX0Xyq3ktEC&pg=PA26&ots=WP8VLTGdNI&sig=d4WJZS0aGMgT-zZYhpuVrZ_LyeU#PPA27,M1 p. 26]</ref>

In 1935 [[Will Rogers]] remarked:

In 1935 [[Will Rogers]] remarked:

:Mother's Day, it's a beautiful thought, but it's somebody's hurtin' conscience that thought of the idea. It was someone who had neglected their mother for years, and then they figured out: I got to do something about Momma. And knowing that Momma was that easy, they figured, "we'll give her a day, and it will be all right with Momma." Give her a day, and then in return Momma gives you the other 364. See?<ref name=quotes>Frank, Catherine, (2003) ''Quotations for All Occasions,'' Columbia University Press, [http://books.google.com/books?id=_HX0Xyq3ktEC&pg=PA25&ots=WP8VLTGdNI&sig=d4WJZS0aGMgT-zZYhpuVrZ_LyeU#PPA27,M1 p. 25]: Anna Jarvis quotation, #15, p. 25; Will Rogers, #16, p. 26</ref><ref>If Rogers was not speaking figuratively when he referred to the person who "thought up the idea," then he was being unfair to Anna Jarvis, who was devoted to her mother and stayed with her mother long into her own adulthood.</ref>

:Mother's Day, it's a beautiful thought, but it's somebody's hurtin' conscience that thought of the idea. It was someone who had neglected their mother for years, and then they figured out: I got to do something about Momma. And knowing that Momma was that easy, they figured, "we'll give her a day, and it will be all right with Momma." Give her a day, and then in return Momma gives you the other 364. See?<ref name=quotes>Frank, Catherine, (2003) ''Quotations for All Occasions,'' Columbia University Press, [https://books.google.com/books?id=_HX0Xyq3ktEC&pg=PA25&ots=WP8VLTGdNI&sig=d4WJZS0aGMgT-zZYhpuVrZ_LyeU#PPA27,M1 p. 25]: Anna Jarvis quotation, #15, p. 25; Will Rogers, #16, p. 26</ref><ref>If Rogers was not speaking figuratively when he referred to the person who "thought up the idea," then he was being unfair to Anna Jarvis, who was devoted to her mother and stayed with her mother long into her own adulthood.</ref>

===Political and social===

===Political and social===

Anna Jarvis' efforts to establish Mother's Day coincided with a period of activity in support of women's suffrage. An historian says that "Opponents of woman suffrage eagerly adopted Anna’s cause as their own." One Mother's Day sermon said that "The mother who spends six years with her children will know far more than the woman who neglects her duty in that way for social and political matters."

Anna Jarvis' efforts to establish Mother's Day coincided with a period of activity in support of women's suffrage. An historian says that "Opponents of woman suffrage eagerly adopted Anna’s cause as their own." One Mother's Day sermon said that "The mother who spends six years with her children will know far more than the woman who neglects her duty in that way for social and political matters."

Jarvis' [[champion]] in the Senate was Alabama senator J. Thomas Heflin:

Jarvis' [[champion]] in the Senate was Alabama senator J. Thomas Heflin:

:Known as "Cotton Tom" because of his devotion to Alabama's leading agricultural commodity, the flamboyant Heflin built a political career as an unremitting opponent of equal rights for black Americans, women, and Roman Catholics... While firmly against giving the vote to women, Heflin believed they would be grateful for his role in establishing Mother's Day as a national holiday.<ref>[http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Cotton_Toms_Last_Blast.htm Cotton Tom's Last Blast], United States Senate website, "Historical Minutes" section</ref>

:Known as "Cotton Tom" because of his devotion to Alabama's leading agricultural commodity, the flamboyant Heflin built a political career as an unremitting opponent of equal rights for black Americans, women, and Roman Catholics... While firmly against giving the vote to women, Heflin believed they would be grateful for his role in establishing Mother's Day as a national holiday.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Cotton_Toms_Last_Blast.htm Cotton Tom's Last Blast], United States Senate website, "Historical Minutes" section</ref>

But Jarvis herself supported women's suffrage, and some of her own statements had at least a tinge of feminism:

But Jarvis herself supported women's suffrage, and some of her own statements had at least a tinge of feminism:

:Washington's Birthday is for the "Father of our Country;" Memorial Day for our "Heroic Fathers;" 4th of July for "Patriot Fathers;" Labor Day for "Laboring Fathers;" Thanksgiving day for "Pilgrim Father[s];" and even New Years Day is for "Old Father Time."<ref name=quotes/>

:Washington's Birthday is for the "Father of our Country;" Memorial Day for our "Heroic Fathers;" 4th of July for "Patriot Fathers;" Labor Day for "Laboring Fathers;" Thanksgiving day for "Pilgrim Father[s];" and even New Years Day is for "Old Father Time."<ref name=quotes/>