12 may 2003
Mother's Day
by
Nanci Olesen
Do you know about the roots of Mother's
day? It's a far cry from the splashy cell
phone ads and the relentless reminders to
BUY FLOWERS that we know now.
In 1870, it was Julia Ward Howe, mom of
six kids, who wrote "The Mother's Day
Proclamation for Peace". She had recently
walked the battlefields of the Civil War
with her husband and with Abraham Lincoln.
She had just written "The Battle Hymn
of the Republic". But now, as the Franco
Prussian War was beginning, she felt that
she could not bear any more violence. She
called for a congress of women to gather
immediately to promote PEACE: A Mother's
Day for Peace. Listen to how her speech
begins:
Arise, then, women of this day!
Arise all women who have hearts,
whether your baptism be that of water
or of tears!
Say firmly:
"We will not have questions decided
by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands shall not come to us reeking
with carnage,
for caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us
to unlearn
all that we have been able to teach them
of charity, mercy and patience.
We women of one country
will be too tender of those of another
country
to allow our sons to be trained to injure
theirs.
From the bosom of the 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 out dishonor
nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plow
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
then solemnly take counsel with each other
as to the means whereby the great
human family can live in peace, each bearing
after their own time the sacred impress,
not of Caesar, but of God—
In the name of womanhood and of humanity,
I earnestly ask that a general congress
of women without limit of nationality
may be appointed and held at some place
deemed most convenient and at the earliest
period consistent with its objects, to
promote the alliance of the different
nationalities, the amicable settlement
of international questions, the great
and general interests of peace—
Julia Ward Howe held a standing room
only meeting in Boston the day that she
read that proclamation. But A Mother's
Day for Peace did not become an annual
event nationwide.
About this same time, there was Anna Jarvis,
who organized "A Mother's Friendship
Day" in which mothers from both North
and South whose sons had died in the Civil
War came, dressed in grey or blue to commemorate
North or South, to hold hands together and
sing.
That Anna Jarvis had a daughter, Anna
Jarvis. On May 10, 1908, young Anna Jarvis
organized what is now considered to be
the first Mother's Day: a church service
dedicated to mothers, recognizing the
unappreciated work that mothers do, AND
calling for peace in the home and in the
world. Andrews Methodist Church, in Grafton,
West Virginia, is considered the Mother
Church of Mother's Day. The next year
Mother's Day was celebrated in 45 states.
On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson
officially named the second Sunday in
May Mother's Day. That declaration included
flowery language about the important role
mothers play in the home and in society.
But there was no mention in this document
of a mother's role in promoting peace
in the world. The holiday took hold and
gained momentum as a time of giving flowers,
gifts and cards to our mothers.
I'm the mom of three kids, ages 8, 9,
and 12. I'll get the flowers and the cards.
I'm even hoping for a nice brunch. I love
being appreciated for being a mom. I always
let my own mom know how much I love her
on the big day. And who doesn't love a
bouquet of flowers in May?
But there's so much more at stake. This
year, I've been telling my kids about
Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis. The tears
burn in my eyes as I speak the words of
Julia Ward Howe, written in 1870 but alarmingly
relevant today: "From the bosom of
the devastated earth a voice goes up with
our own: it says 'Disarm. Disarm.' "
Happy Mother's Day. |
