The cynics among us like to point out that all holidays outside of Christmas and Easter were manufactured by the card companies and florists to rob us blind and empty our bank accounts, increasing the hellish commute we’ll face when we need to walk uphill both ways to the poorhouse in our twilight years.

Seeing as Mother’s Day is this Sunday (and reading news articles like this one about anticipated spending on flowers, gifts, and cards for Mom), I’ve started to wonder if it’s a manufactured holiday, too.

Turns out it is…but not for the reasons you might think.

Apparently Mother’s Day is a combination of two traditions…the one pushed by Anne Marie Jarvis, who wanted to celebrate her mother after that woman’s death, and Julia Ward Howe (think “Battle Hymn of the Republic”), who used a mother’s holiday as a way to organize women around issues of pacifism and disarmament.  For years, Mother’s Day was known as a working-class holiday celebrating peace, safety, and health.  Only during World War II did this holiday gain popularity, perhaps due to its sentimentality in a time of war.

Though Jarvis wanted Mother’s Day to be about “sentiment, not profit,” her message has been co-opted by savvy marketers looking to cash in on parental devotion.  Nowadays, it’s rare to meet someone who remembers the true focus of the first Mother’s Days in this country.

When you’re buying those flowers or mailing that card to Mom this year, stop and think for a second about the true origins of this holiday.  What can we learn from the co-opting of Mother’s Day?  It can’t be all bad…after all, most mothers are unsung heroes of some variety.  Still, the authentic origins of Mother’s Day feel a bit more real and relevant than a holiday meant for random cards and obligatory gifts.  Maybe it’s time to re-hybridize Mother’s Day, turning it into a celebration of the women who bore us and the universal rights and values of all children.

No related posts.

Comments are closed.