A West Virginia woman started 'Mother's Day', then was arrested for protesting the holiday

WASHINGTON (7News) — Did you know the founder of Mother's Day despised greeting cards, candy, and bouquets of flowers, and that she was arrested for protesting the price gouging and commercialization of the holiday?

Anna Jarvis was born in 1864 in West Virginia. She was one of her mother's more than 12 children -- though most died from diseases like measles.

During the Civil War, Anna's mother, Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis, organized women's groups to help care for sick or wounded Confederate and Union troops and organized Mother's Friendship Day to bring divided families together.

Two years after her mother's death, Anna wanted a day to honor the women who play an instrumental role in their children's lives. On May 10, 1908, the first Mother's Day service was held in Grafton, West Virginia, at what was the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church. It is now known as the International Mother's Day Shrine.

The idea was simple: give heartfelt tokens of appreciation. Anna suggested a single, home-grown white carnation and a handwritten letter to mom.

In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first National Mother's Day.

The floral and greeting card companies latched onto the marketability of the holiday. The sentimental celebration quickly turned commercial, and in 1925, the then-61-year-old Anna was arrested for disturbing the peace after crashing a confectioner's convention in Philadelphia.

In 2025, consumers are expected to spend more than $34 billion on gifts and outings for mom, according to the National Retail Federation.

The holiday on the second Sunday of May is big business, but it doesn't have to be. Children, young and old, can take suggestions from a 1922 newspaper article. In The St. Johns Herald, John Dickinson Sherman wrote in part:

"Mother's Day should be celebrated 365 days in the year. There's no need to argue about it."

As for gifts, "Write her a letter -- a long one."

"Tell mother your plans and ambitions -- she made them possible."

And of course, "Don't forget to say 'I love you!'"