mother’s day...

To my mother and to all mothers, everywhere, Happy Mother’s Day!

Mother’s Day is the day set aside to celebrate all those responsible for... well... all of us.

Mothering Day, traced back to seventeenth century England (the fourth Sunday in Lent) was the day when strict rules regarding fasting and penance were set aside, and motherhood was celebrated.

In the United States, in 1872, Julia Ward Howe (author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic) suggested a day be set aside to celebrate motherhood and international peace. Then, in 1907, a woman named Anna Jarvis set up a national Mother’s “Work Day” to raise awareness of poor health conditions in the workplace. Jarvis asked legislators and businessmen to create a special day for mothers.

The idea finally took hold in 1914 when Woodrow Wilson declared the second Sunday in May be set aside as a tribute to the enormous contribution that mothers everywhere make.

And so, in honor of all mothers, once again, I/we salute and thank you!