Ann Jarvis and daughter
Nope, they’re not musicians. These two women are credited with the creation of the modern Mother’s day holiday. They are Ann Jarvis and her daughter, Anna.
This May 10, people all over the country will be celebrating Mother’s Day in honor of our mothers. Here in West Virginia, people should not only be proud of their mothers but also that Mother’s Day started in Grafton in 1908.
Anna Jarvis, the founder of Mother’s Day, was very close to her mother. She depended on her for support and advice. Her mother was a great influence on her all throughout her life.
Anna Jarvis taught in Grafton schools for seven years. After the death of her father, she and her family moved to Philadelphia, where her mother died in 1905.
Two years later Anna, friends, and family gathered on the second Sunday in May to commemorate her mother’s death. Anna chose for everyone to wear white carnations because they represent sweetness, purity, and endurance. Plus they were her mother’s favorite flower.
One year later, Anna Jarvis wrote to the officials of the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton and asked if there could be a day to honor all mothers. The officials agreed and the first ever Mother’s Day was held on May 10.
On May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a congressional resolution officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.