As families across the world celebrate Mother’s Day with flowers, brunches, handwritten cards, and social media tributes, historians are reminding people that the holiday’s origins were rooted in something far deeper: women’s activism, public health advocacy, and community healing.
Long before Mother’s Day became one of the most commercially celebrated holidays of the year, its founders envisioned it as a day to honor the labor, sacrifice, and leadership of mothers, not just inside the home, but throughout society.
The modern American observance of Mother’s Day is credited to Anna Jarvis, who campaigned tirelessly to establish a national holiday after the death of her mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis.
For women, particularly Black and Brown women whose caregiving labor has historically extended far beyond their own households, the history of Mother’s Day carries a powerful and often overlooked message about resilience, collective care, and social responsibility.
Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis, who lived in West Virginia during the 19th century, experienced devastating personal loss after many of her children died from diseases common in Appalachian communities at the time. In response, she organized “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs,” groups of women who worked to improve sanitation, educate families about hygiene, inspect food and milk quality, and provide medicine and support to struggling neighbors.
Her work became even more significant during the American Civil War, when she insisted the women’s groups care for soldiers from both the Union and Confederate sides, prioritizing humanity over division.
After the war, she organized “Mothers’ Friendship Day” events aimed at rebuilding fractured communities and promoting reconciliation during one of the nation’s most painful periods.
Her daughter, Anna Jarvis, was deeply moved by her mother’s lifelong commitment to service and community healing. Following Ann’s death, Anna dedicated herself to creating a national holiday that would honor mothers for what she described as their “matchless service” to humanity.
In 1908, Anna organized one of the first official Mother’s Day celebrations in Grafton before successfully lobbying states and eventually the federal government to recognize the day nationally. President Woodrow Wilson later signed a proclamation officially establishing Mother’s Day as a U.S. holiday.
But Anna Jarvis eventually became disillusioned with what the holiday had become. She believed the growing commercialization of Mother’s Day — centered around greeting cards, gifts, and retail sales — distracted from its true purpose: honoring the sacrifices, emotional labor, and civic contributions of mothers.
Historians say the story behind Mother’s Day remains especially meaningful today as many women continue balancing caregiving, careers, activism, community leadership, and advocacy amid political, economic, and social challenges.
For Black and Brown women in particular, motherhood has often carried additional layers shaped by systemic inequality, healthcare disparities, economic hardship, immigration struggles, and cultural expectations — while also serving as a source of strength, resistance, and intergenerational wisdom.
The holiday’s founders encouraged families to use Mother’s Day not only to celebrate mothers, but also to truly listen to them.
Rather than limiting the day to gifts or social media posts, historians suggest asking deeper questions about women’s experiences, sacrifices, and hopes for future generations: How has motherhood changed across generations? What social or political events shaped their lives? What lessons do they hope to pass on?
More than a century after its founding, Mother’s Day remains rooted in a powerful truth first recognized by Ann and Anna Jarvis: mothers do far more than nurture families, they help shape communities, preserve culture, and sustain nations.
