22 MAY 2018 By Nick Smith Mother’s Day has long been a part of American culture. From bringing mom breakfast in bed as a kid, to rushing for flowers and cards as an adult, it seems like a holiday that has always been around. But someone had to invent it. And the story of that person is a fascinating blend of innovation, determination and tragedy. One day in 1876, 12-year-old Anna Jarvis was in a Sunday school class being taught by her mother. The lesson was about mothers from the Bible and was ended with a prayer. “I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother’s day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life,” said Anna’s mother. “She is entitled to it.” Jarvis never forgot that prayer, later saying that it burned its way into her mind and heart. After the death of her mother in 1905, she began a campaign to make Mother’s Day a reality. She wrote thousands of letters to politicians, including President Theodore Roosevelt. Eventually the plan began to catch on, with early supporters including author Mark Twain and politician William Jennings Bryan. The first official celebration of Mother’s Day was a kind of memorial service held at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia. With Jarvis continuing to lead the effort, the push for the holiday gained steam from state to state, with local politicians and citizens observing the day. By 1914, every state was celebrating Mother’s Day, making it easy for President Woodrow Wilson to make it an official national holiday. Achieving her goal after a decade of hard work would seem to be a happy ending. But the twist in this story finds Jarvis at the end of her life wishing she had never invented the holiday to begin with. Mother’s Day, in the mind of Anna Jarvis, was supposed to be nothing more than a pure expression of gratitude and thankfulness toward mothers all over the country. She saw the day exactly as she wanted it to be, spending each year putting together an official program that gave a list of music and readings to be used by anyone having a Mother’s Day celebration, along with a personal message from the special day’s founder. What it was never supposed to be, in her mind, was a holiday corrupted by non-stop commercialization. But of course, as Mother’s Day became more and more popular, the greeting card and floral industries saw an opportunity. As her holiday became a source of massive profit for so many, Jarvis railed against the commercialization of her life’s work. She protested against anyone who was making money off Mother’s Day, at one point having over 30 different lawsuits pending. Jarvis crashed nonprofits that sold flowers to raise funds, organized boycotts of florists, and wrote angry letters to Eleanor Roosevelt. Sadly for Jarvis though, the toothpaste was out of the tube, as there was simply no way to limit the commercialization of what had become one of the most important holidays on the American calendar. The irony was that while many got rich off Mother’s Day, the woman who had invented it would have to deal with economic hardships in her later years. In her old age, Jarvis was so bitter that she organized a petition to rescind the very holiday she fought so hard to bring to life. She died in 1948, at the age of 84. She never had any children. The story behind the first Mother’s Day Anna Jarvis 1864-1948. Each week children experience a different vacation adventure through arts & crafts, imaginative play, story time and more! Online Registration NOW OPEN! REGISTER ONLINE: www.staphxschool.org 4510 N 24th Street • Phoenix, AZ 85016 (602) 954-9088 Week Two: Out of This World (June 11-14) Week One: Mermaid Tails & Pirate Sails (June 4-7) Week Three: It’s a Bug’s Life (June 18-21) Week Four: Under the Big Top (June 25-28) Who: Children Ages 3-6 (Children must be able to use the bathroom INDEPENDENTLY) When: Mondays – Thursdays; 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Extended day (1 p.m. - 3 p.m.) available. Cost: Register for individual week sessions or for the entire 4 weeks. (Morning snack provided. Children bring lunch.) $25.00 non-refundable registration fee PLUS $140.00 per week per child OR $520.00 for 4 weeks per child ($40.00 savings!) Extended day add-on available for $15.00 per day. Arcadia Same Day Appointments 623-877-PEDS (7337) www.DVPeds.com/arcadia 4840 E Indian School Rd, #100 Phoenix, AZ 85018 QUALITY CARE • CONVENIENCE • REPUTATION SPRING IS HERE Schedule your child’s Camp or Sports Physical today! Schedule your child’s Camp or Sports Physical today! SPECIALIZING IN:  Newborns & Infants  Well Child Exams  Immunizations  Sports/Camp Physicals

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