Although the custom of setting aside a day to honor mothers has ancient roots, our observance of Mother’s Day originated more recently.
In 1887, Mary Towles Sasseen—a teacher in Henderson, Kentucky—led her class in what is the first known observance of a Mother’s Day focusing just on honoring mom. Later, Mary published a pamphlet about her vision for the special day to share with others. She traveled across the country to educational gatherings to promote the observance as a national holiday, primarily in public schools, with a suggested date of April 20, her mother’s birthday. Schools in several states, including in Springfield, Ohio, adopted the idea. Mary died in 1906, before her dream of a national holiday was realized. In 1926, Kentucky legislature passed a resolution acclaiming Mary as the “originator of the idea of the Celebration of Mother’s Day.”
In 1907, to honor her own mother, Anna M. Jarvis of Philadelphia also conceived the idea of an annual nationwide celebration. The public and the press quickly embraced the idea, and more villages, towns, cities, and states began unofficial Mother’s Day observances.
On May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day, and within a few years, the idea gained worldwide prominence. The day is now characterized by gift giving, sending greeting cards and flowers, and giving mother a “day off” by taking the family out to eat.