Today marks the 100^th anniversary of the first nationally recognized Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is known as a day dedicated to expressing gratitude to our mothers, gifts, brunch’s and pampering.

Where it all Began

Ann Reeves Jarvis started the process in the 1850’s when she held Mother’s Day work clubs” to improve conditions for women and children. After the Civil War, the clubs organized events called Mother’s Friendship Day picnics to unite mothers across America and encourage women to take a more active role in politics. Ann’s daughter, Anna, was inspired after her mother’s death to organize the first Mother’s day observance in 1908. Through Anna’s efforts, a growing number of cities across the country began observing Mother’s day after 1908. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially declared the second Sunday in May to be recognized as Mother’s day.

Interesting Factoids

Mother’s day was intentionally left in its’ singular form to signify that the holiday wasn’t a day to celebrate all Mom’s just the most special one in each individual’s life.  Anna was adamant it stay in singular form to keep each Mother’s day observance unique to the special mom in one’s life. Anna recognized it as a day that you’d go home to spend quality time with your Mother and thank her for everything she’s done for her children.

This weekend, it is estimated that American’s will spend $19.9 billion on mom. According to Hallmark, Mother’s day is their third largest holiday for sales behind Christmas and Valentine’s. Behind Christmas, it is the second most popular holiday to shop for gifts and is the year’s busiest day for the restaurant business.

At Paladin we want to take the time to recognize all the moms out there for everything they do day in and day out. Happy Mother’s Day!