Small Things Count

Honor the early history and spirit of Mother’s Day in the U.S. (It actually goes as far back as the ancient Greeks.) On the first Mother’s Day celebration (1858) at a W. Virginia church, Ann Jarvis united mothers to fight infant mortality. During the rest of the 1800s women’s peace groups perpetuated the idea of bringing together mothers for just causes. After the Civil War, Julia Ward Howe called on mothers to unite against war and promote social justice. In 1872, Anna Jarvis suggested an official Mother’s Day. She got the idea from her own activist social worker mom, who, noticing that adult Americans were neglecting their mothers, felt strongly that all mothers should be honored for their contributions. So, Mother’s Day represents much more than greeting cards and flowers. It honors all the women who, even in the way they raise their children, have mothered our world toward peace and justice.