06/05/2025
Before the cards, the flowers, and the sales... there was Anna Jarvis.
In 1905, Anna lost her mother - Ann Reeves Jarvis - a courageous woman who cared for soldiers during the Civil War and united mothers to promote peace and health.
Grieving but inspired, Anna wanted to honour her mother's life of service.
In 1908, she organized the ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ'๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ in West Virginia - not with gifts, but with heartfelt letters and white carnations.
Her dream?
๐ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ๐ฐ๐. ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐ "๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐" ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐.
By 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared it a national holiday.
But Anna's heart broke again...
By the 1920s, flower companies raised the price of white carnations and started selling red ones too. Over time, people gave red carnations to honor living moms and white ones for moms who had passed away - changing the meaning Anna Jarvis originally intended.
She attempted to counter these commercial forces of flowers and chocolates and spent her final years ๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป of the very day she created.
So this Motherโs Day, pause for a moment.
Let it begin where it all began - with love, remembrance, and a simple, honest:
โ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐, ๐ ๐ผ๐บ.โ