The tragic story behind Mother's Day
06.05.11
Ann Marie died on the second Sunday in May of 1905. After she passed away, her daughter Anna made it her mission to make Mother’s Day a holiday — not only to honour her mother, but all mothers.
On the second Sunday in May of 1907, Anna held a small memorial service for her mother at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, Va. The mourners present received a white carnation, which had been Ann Marie’s favourite flower. Anna organized another one a year later, and this service is generally accepted as the first official Mother’s Day event.
Anna envisioned Mother’s Day as a celebration of the home and all that your mother did for you.
“That is why part of her celebration was to come visit your mother on that day,” says Antolini . “You’re thanking your mother for all the sacrifices she has made for you. So if you can’t be at home that day, you send her a handwritten letter.”
To further the cause , Anna created the Mother’s Day International Association in 1912. The group was intended to promote the day and organize events. But Anna soon began to resent the commercial aspect of the occasion.
Source: CBC.ca