The History of Mother's Day

Today in the United States, it is Mother's Day—a holiday devoted to the celebration of mothers and motherhood. But long before it was an expectation to at least buy cheap chocolates, useless tchotchkes, and mass-produced cards at your local corner store, Mother's Day was a holiday with a much bigger meaning.

Of course, The History Channel offers a bland overview with a partial sketch of the who, what, and when of the development of the holiday, but it completely fails when it comes to the why. It's the perfect example of what Ben Stone of @badquakerdotcom calls Forrest Gump history. "A woman really liked her mother, and got a bunch of people to write letters, and the government made a new holiday." Something is clearly missing, but what motivated this movement in the late 19th and early 20th century?

Wikipedia offers a slightly more expanded explanation of the origin. Following the US Civil War, many groups of mothers began to organize in opposition to war, demanding public recognition of the personal losses caused by mass slaughter. Why should mothers send their sons to kill one another or die in service to politicians who had no concern for the human lives involved, or the sorrow of those left behind?

This Mother's Day, perhaps we should remember more than the mere existence of mothers. Consider actively opposing the warfare that makes mothers into childless widows around the world every day. Reject the abusive parental attitude of the State's bureaucrats, and instead embrace the real relationships we have with the women who did the most to form our core values.

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