Happy Mother's Day

History of Mother's Day from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The modern Mother's Day holiday was created by Anna Jarvis, as a day to honor mothers and motherhood; especially within the context of families, and family relationships.[1] It is now celebrated on various days, in many parts of the world. Father's Day is a corresponding holiday honoring fathers.

The practice of celebrating Mother's Day is a relatively recent tradition, first established in the U.S.A. in the early 20th century. It should not be confused with other pagan and Christian traditions honoring mothers, or with the U.K. holiday, Mothering Sunday, which is also known as Mother's Day and dates back to the 16th century.

Many countries around the world now celebrate a "Mother's Day", generally this is a recent practice, derived from the U.S. tradition. Exceptions include, for example, Mothering Sunday in the UK, which predates the U.S. holiday.

In 1912, Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrases "second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day", and created the Mother's Day International Association. [1][2]

"She was specific about the location of the apostrophe; it was to be a singular possessive, for each family to honour their mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world."[1]

This is also the spelling used by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in the law making official the holiday in the U.S., by the U.S. Congress on bills,[3][4] and by other U.S. presidents on their declarations.[5]

Common usage in English language also dictates that the ostensibly singular possessive "Mother's Day" is the preferred spelling, although "Mothers' Day" (plural possessive) is not unheard of.