her mother, ann jarvis, had organized teams of women to tend to both union and confederate soldiers during the civil war--no matter which side the soldier served, the women treated him with compassion and neutrality. later, she created 'mothers' day work clubs' to advance sanitation in five cities. after her death, anna jarvis memorialized her mother by sending 500 white carnations to each mother in her childhood church's congregation in grafton, west virginia, in 1907. then, she campaigned to make mother's day a legitimate celebration. it caught on surprisingly quickly, and in 1914 woodrow wilson proclaimed it a national holiday.
however, like all things american, the holiday became rapidly commercialized--something which anna jarvis deplored. to wit, her thoughts on printed mother's day cards:
a printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. and candy! you take a box to mother—and then eat most of it yourself. a pretty sentiment.
—anna jarvis
anna jarvis spent the rest of her life trying to get rid of the holiday's commercial aspects, to no avail. she died in west chester, pennsylvania, in 1948, having never become a mother herself. the church where she founded mother's day, andrews methodist episcopal church, was listed on the national register of historic places in 1992, as the 'international mother's day shrine'. you can still visit it today, if you're so inclined! it's open from april 15 to october 31, and has a special mother's day service.
