from Brigett Walther's astrology site - history of Mother's Day

MOTHER’S DAY: A Brief History by Jodi Wells

posted here: http://www.bridgettwalther.com/

Mother's Day as we know it, celebrated the second Sunday in May, is observed as a tribute and celebration of mothers and motherhood. But did you know that early Mother's Day was mostly marked by women's peace groups? The common activity of the day was the meeting of groups of mothers from opposite sides of the American Civil War whose sons had fought or died in battle.
Mother's Day was first proclaimed in 1870 by Julia Ward Howe as a call for pacifism and disarmament by women united in what she called a Mother's Day For Peace. Howe called for the day to be observed nationally but her attempts failed.
Then in 1908, to celebrate the work of her mother, Anna Jarvis, who fought for better sanitary conditions and reconciliation for both the Union and Confederate sides, young Anna Jarvis started her own crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such Mother's Day was celebrated on May 10, 1908, in Grafton, West Virginia. From there, the custom caught on and eventually spread to 45 states.
The holiday was then officially declared in all states by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914.
Here is an excerpt from Julia Ward Howe's original 1870 Mother's Day Proclamation:
From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means Whereby the great human family can live in peace...
~ Jodi Develbiss Wells