A North American Mothers Day (Part 1)

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A North American Mothers Day (Part 1)

Apr 29th, 2008 by The Florister

In North America we celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May. This North American event was loosely inspired by the British day and was originally imported by the social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American civil war.

Ms Howe intended the day as a call to unite women against war and in 1870 she wrote the ‘Mother’s Day Proclamation’ as a call for peace and disarmament. Howe failed in her attempt to gain formal recognition of Mother’s Day for Peace.

Ms Howe’s idea was originally influenced by Ann Jarvis who begun a movement back in 1858 to improve sanitation through special days she called ‘Mother’s Work Days.’ Jarvis organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides and in 1868 after the war, she worked to help reconcile the Confederate and Union neighbours.