Hey, Mom!

(photo by Dreamstime.com)

Mother's Day is a holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May in the United States.  It is a day when children (small and adult) honor their mothers with gifts, flowers, and cards. 

In 1908, Ana Jarvis from West Virginia, U.S., started a campaign to observe a national Mother's Day.  She began with convincing her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate all mothers on the anniversary of her own mother's death.

Jarvis, along with others, began a letter-writing campaign to ministers, businessmen, and politicians.  They urged support for their idea of a national Mother's Day.  It worked!  President Woodrow Wilson made an official announcement in 1914.  He proclaimed that Mother's Day would be a national observance held each year on the second Sunday in May.

The United States is not the only country honoring Mothers.  Many other countries celebrate Mother's Day at different times throughout the year.  Only Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium celebrate Mother's Day the same day as the United States.