Every year, North Americans set aside special days to honor our fathers, our mothers, and even our grandparents. How did these holidays get started?
MOTHER’S DAY (second Sunday in May)
Origin: In 1908 Anna Jarvis, a West Virginia schoolteacher, started a one-woman crusade in honor of her mother, who had died three years earlier. On May 10, 1908, Jarvis persuaded pastors in several nearby cities to hold Mother’s Day services in their churches. From there she launched a letter-writing campaign to governors, congressmen, clergy, and the media. Six years later she finally achieved her goal: on May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued an official proclamation establishing the holiday.
The Inside Scoop: Jarvis—who had no children of her own—came to hate the holiday she created. She loathed its commercialism, especially flowers and greeting cards. “Any mother would rather have a line of the worst scribble from her son or daughter,” she complained, “than a fancy greeting card.”
FATHER’S DAY (third Sunday in June)
Origin: Anna Jarvis’s idea inspired a Spokane, Washington, housewife named Sonora Dodd to work for a Father’s Day in honor of her dad, who had raised six children alone. She proposed making Father’s Day the first Sunday in June—the month of her father’s birthday. But local religious leaders needed more time to prepare appropriate sermons, so they settled on the third Sunday. The first Father’s Day: June 19, 1910.
In China, cats are considered good luck. =^..^=
Although President Wilson personally observed the holiday, he refused to make it official. And no succeeding president would officially endorse the holiday, either. The reason: They feared voters would think it was too self-serving. Finally in 1972, Father’s Day was proclaimed a federal holiday by President Richard Nixon.
The Inside Scoop: Although she turned down many offers to endorse products, Dodd had nothing against giving gifts on Father’s Day. “After all,” she said, “why should the greatest giver of gifts not be on the receiving end at least once a year?”
GRANDPARENTS’ DAY (first Sunday after Labor Day)
Origin: Most historians give credit for this holiday to Marian McQuade, a grandmother from West Virginia. But others say it was Michael Goldgar, a grandfather from Georgia. Both made several trips to Washington to lobby for a holiday that celebrated the wisdom of grandparents. Whichever it was, it worked. President Carter signed Grandparent’s Day into law in 1978. September was chosen because it represents the autumn years of life.
Every year, Americans spend $20 million on Father’s Day ties.
