IT'S MOTHER'S DAY. CALL YOUR MOM

Mother's day has been celebrated in many different ways for decades. From the Ancient Roman Celebration Cybele -celebrated by the Romans who used the event to commemorate an important battle and mark the beginning of Winter - to the Greek Celebration of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods.

It was Anna M. Jarvis who, In 1908, campaigned for the creation of an official Mother’s Day in remembrance of her mother and in honor of peace. In 1908 a U.S. Senator from Nebraska, Elmer Burkett, proposed making Mother's Day a national holiday at the request of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). The proposal was defeated, but by 1909 forty-six states were holding Mother's Day services as well as parts of Canada and Mexico.

Jarvis endlessly petitioned state governments until 1914 when Woodrow Wilson signed it into national observance, declaring the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. Years later she vociferously opposed what she perceived as a misuse of the holiday because she believed it had become too commercialized. She claimed people became lazy and bought cards instead of writing heartfelt letters to their mothers. In 1923 she sued to stop any Mother’s Day event, and in the 1930's she was arrested for disturbing the peace at the American War Mothers group.

Today, I received an e-card attachment in an email from my daughter and a cell phone call from my son. I am sure that Jarvis would have been terribly insulted by this. I thought it was sweet! So however you decide to celebrate the day - Happy Mother's Day (in a non-commercial way)!