CastRings
2004-05-12 - 8:32 a.m.
Mother's Day
Mother's Day was fine. A quiet day. A cute e-card and my lunch catered by Mandy and Ben. Nice.
Come evening my Grandmother calls upset. She says she was telling the other "inmates" (that's how she refers to living in assisted living) at dinner how one of her ancestors was responsible for starting Mother's Day in this country. They didn't believe her, hence her upset.
She wanted me to fetch the family book she sent to me for safe keeping. It is called "The Jarvis Book", a history of the Jarvis family. Frankly, I thought Grams was mistaken, but wanted to help. Imagine my surprise when I find a newspaper article from the early 40s talking about Anna Jarvis and Mother's Day!
Still not really trusting this I head to Google where they have links to celebrate the day. Half way down the page I find this:
THE FIRST MOTHER'S DAY
The first Mother's Day observance was a church service honoring Mrs. Anna Reese Jarvis, held at Anna Jarvis's request in Grafton, West Virginia, and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1908.
Carnations, her mother's favorite flowers, were supplied at that first service by Miss Jarvis. White carnations were chosen because they represented the sweetness, purity and endurance of mother love. Red carnations, in time, became the symbol of a living mother. White ones now signify that one's mother has died.
OTHER MOTHER'S DAY OBSERVANCES
The first Mother's Day proclamation was issued by the governor of West Virginia in 1910. Oklahoma celebrated Mother's Day that year as well. By 1911 every state had its own observances. By then other areas celebrating Mother's Day included Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, South America and Africa. The Mother's Day International Association was incorporated on December 12, 1912, with the purpose of furthering meaningful observations of Mother's Day.
Well, I have some interesting relatives. If all is to be believed my kin folk have had a major part in Pop culture! From Kennedy rum-runners, to Elvis, Founding Rhode Island, the writing of Handel's Messiah, a major film producer/editor in Hollywood. It's been a few generations since anything new has happened. Time to shake something up, don't you think?