Mother's Day

Mother's Day has many origins. One of the first celebrations was hosted by ancient Greeks, who organized festivities in all the cities to honor the coming of Spring and the goddess Rhéa (mother of Zeus). The Romans went on to adopt the holiday on March 1st, to celebrate the "matronly women" who were responsible for the family and maintaining the home.
In the XVIth century, Germans also introduced "mothering day" which is celebrated annually, but this holiday was soon replaced by a religious holiday.

It's in the United States that Mother's Day will be reinstated as a holiday by two women. In 1870, Julia Ward Howe calls for the annual celebration of a "Mother's Day". This day becomes recognized in some American cities, but is not yet officially recognized on a national level.

It is thanks to Anna Jarvis that Mother's Day becomes recognized as a national holiday by president Woodrow Wilson in 1914. Anna Jarvis was very close to her mother, and was greatly affected by her death on May 9, 1905. She asks that starting 1908 a celebration is held on the second Sunday of May to honor all mothers of the country. After six years of strenuous work, notably the foundation of clubs and the celebration of mass working to support her ideas, Jarvis successfully manages to have the president declare Mother's Day a national holiday.
The internationalization of Mother's Day was spurred on by the two World Wars, to honor those who lost children at war.

Today, Mother's Day is under fire by critics because it has progressively become a commercial holiday helping marketing companies advertise florists, chocolate companies, jewelry and perfume...
And yes, while this may be the case, does it really matter? After all, whether it be commercial, traditional, or historical, a day that did, and will continue to celebrate mothers around the world is a good holiday!