Origin of Mother's Day Origin of Mother's Day in China

Mother's Day originated in the United States, and was started by Philadelphia native Anna Jarvis, a woman who remained unmarried and childless all her life, and who was devastated by the death of her mother on May 9, 1906, and who organized a memorial service for her on the anniversary of her death the following year, encouraging others to express their gratitude in a similar way. On the anniversary of her mother's death the following year, Jarvis organized events to memorialize her mother and encourage others to show their appreciation for their respective loving mothers in a similar way.

Jarvis wrote to Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia, requesting a special memorial service for her mother. Her mother had served the Sunday school of this church for more than 20 years during her lifetime, and in 1908, the church proclaimed the second Sunday in May, the anniversary of Jarvis's mother's death, as Mother's Day. Jarvis also organized a Mother's Day committee and began a massive campaign calling for Mother's Day to be made an official holiday.

Her call was met with an overwhelming response, and on May 10, 1913, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed a resolution, signed by President Woodrow Wilson, proclaiming the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. This initiative was copied by countries around the world, and by the time Jarvis died in 1948, 43 countries had established Mother's Day