Changes

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 "Mother's Day for Peace"===

===Julia Ward Howe's "Mother's Day"===

[[Julia Ward Howe]], author of [[Battle Hymn of the Republic]], had earlier attempted to found a "Mother's Day for Peace," to be celebrated on June 2nd. 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 2nd. 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, [http://books.google.com/books?id=LHqjEYLKPfYC&pg=RA11-PA302 p. 302]</ref>

Mother's Day for Peace 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>  

In recent years, there have been attempts to associate Anna Jarvis' Mother's Day with Howe's antiwar message. In 1991 the Boston Globe reported that "the descendants of Julia Ward Howe are asking mothers and children across the nation today to cast aside the sappy sentiment, candy and cards that often characterize Mother's Day and to try instead to revive the day's original meaning."<ref>Gaines, Judith, "A Call to Work for Peace: Kin of Julia Ward Howe Rekindle Her Original Goal for Mother's Day,'' ''The Boston Globe,'', May 12, 1991, p. 36</ref> In fact, there appears to be a sort of myth that the modern celebration traces back to Howe's and was gradually co-opted by the forces of sentimentality: "Today's hearts-and-flowers approach to Mother's Day would have appalled its founder, famed American poet Julia Ward Howe," wrote the Springfield, Massachusetts Union-News in 2001.<ref>Carbone, Angela (2001), "Hamp sets tribute to Julia Howe; 'Battle Hymn' author founded Mother's Day." May 11, 2001, p. B04</ref>

In recent years, there have been attempts to associate Anna Jarvis' Mother's Day with Howe's antiwar message. In 1991 the Boston Globe reported that "the descendants of Julia Ward Howe are asking mothers and children across the nation today to cast aside the sappy sentiment, candy and cards that often characterize Mother's Day and to try instead to revive the day's original meaning."<ref>Gaines, Judith, "A Call to Work for Peace: Kin of Julia Ward Howe Rekindle Her Original Goal for Mother's Day,'' ''The Boston Globe,'', May 12, 1991, p. 36</ref> In fact, there appears to be a sort of myth that the modern celebration traces back to Howe's and was gradually co-opted by the forces of sentimentality: "Today's hearts-and-flowers approach to Mother's Day would have appalled its founder, famed American poet Julia Ward Howe," wrote the Springfield, Massachusetts Union-News in 2001.<ref>Carbone, Angela (2001), "Hamp sets tribute to Julia Howe; 'Battle Hymn' author founded Mother's Day." May 11, 2001, p. B04</ref>