How Did the Celebration of Mother’s Day Begin?

I have always thought that Mother's Day was created in a meeting room at Hallmark untill I did some research.

It goes all the way back to offerings Romans made to Cybele, their Great Mother of Gods. Christians celebrated a festival on the fourth Sunday in Lent in honor of Mary, mother of Christ. It was expanded to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday in England.

Mother's Day started in the United State about one hundred fifty years ago. Anna Jarvis wanted to make people aware of poor health in the town where she lived. She felt that mothers would be the most likely to help out, so she called it "Mother's Work Day."

A few years later, Julia Ward Howe who wrote the words to "Battle Hymn of the Republic," came up with a day encouraging mothers to rally for peace. Anna Jarvis died in 1905 and her daughter who was also named Anna wanted to memorialize the life work of her mother. In 1908 she passed out carnations, her mother's favorite flower, at church. She started talking to politicians including Presidents Taft and Roosevelt to support her campaign.

In 1914 Woodrow Wilson signed a bill recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday.

The second Sunday of May is now the most popular day of the year to dine out. The most phone calls are made on Mother's Day, as sons and daughters call their mothers to express their love.

Via [Wikipedia]