Mother’s Day may have pagan origins, dating back to ancient Greek spring festivals that honored maternal goddesses. In Medieval times, apprentices and servants would also be given Mothering Sunday off to return home to their mothers, and would eat a special fruitcake called a Simnel cake. Happy Mother’s Day: Origins of the Holiday.
Anna Jarvis, a woman from Philadelphia, originated Mother’s Day in the United States in 1907. On May 12, 1907, she held a memorial service for her mother, Ann Jarvis, at her mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia. Ann Jarvis had organized women’s groups to promote health and friendship, and had also nursed soldiers during the American Civil War. Anna wanted to honor her mother’s work and the sacrifices of motherhood, and by 1912, 45 US states and other countries were observing Mother’s Day. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day a national holiday in the United States, to be celebrated on the second Sunday of May.
Anna Jarvis also promoted wearing a white carnation as a tribute to a deceased mother, and a red or pink carnation to represent a living mother.