Compositions & Coffee Presents: "Creative Soul Digest"
Mindful Movement Monday
Eclectual Family Hello! I hope all of you are healthy and well (mind and body). So much has taken place over the past month so I know we have a lot to talk about and cover. Last month (April) was Black Women’s History Month and I had mixed feelings about it especially since March was Women’s History Month. While I appreciate us getting a dedicated time to focus on our Melanin Sista magic I also was questioning why we were separated like that but not acknowledged. We will explore more next Mindful Movement Monday because this one is dedicated to Mother’s. As women we are nurturer’s and are all #Daughter’s of (Shout out to GirlTrek) and on May 9th we stand proud and celebrate all mom’s before us that passed down their strength and wisdom. I’ve looked at Mother’s Day as a Hallmark holiday for so long and honestly was just annoyed but it’s commercialism so I thought it would be interesting to look into it’s origin’s and roots. This Mindful Movement Monday let’s talk history and the movement to truly honor Mother’s.
History of Mother’s Day
The Mother’s Day we know and celebrate in the US was created in 1908 by a woman named Anna Jarvis but wouldn’t officially be a holiday until 1914. The interesting truth is, Jarvis later denounced the holiday due to it’s commercialism and spent her later years trying to have it removed (and there it is). The origin of Mother’s Day actually dates back to the 19th century when Ann Reeves Jarvis helped form the Mother’s Day Work Club to educate mom’s on proper care for their children. In 1868 she organized the Mother’s Friendship Day to help unite mom’s from both Confederate and Union sides in order to promote reconciliation. Julia Ward Howe, another prominent member in the suffragist and abolitionist movement, was also credited with calling for recognition of mom’s. In 1870 she called for a Mother’s Day Proclamation asking for mom’s to unite for world peace and campaigned for Mother’s Peace Day to be celebrated on June 2nd. Other notable figures were Juliet Calhoun Blakely in Michigan, Mary Towles Sasseen and Frank Hering. It wasn’t until Anna Jarvis, the daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis, pushed the agenda of Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifice mother’s made for their children. Following her mother’s death she pursued this vision and organized the first official celebration at a Methodist Church in West Virginia. Following the success in West Virginia she pushed to have it added to the national calendar as an official holiday. Her argument was that holiday’s were biased toward male achievements. President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day after her massive letter writing campaign. Check this out, Anna herself was unmarried and barred no children but understood the importance and power of mother’s after watching her own mother’s dedication and fight to empower women. All sounds great right? So why denounce it?
Well Anna’s original plan for the Mother’s Day Celebration had women wearing white carnation’s as a proud symbol of graduating to Motherhood and spending time with one’s mother or attending church. Unfortunately, you know how it goes in our society we gotta profit off it somehow it can’t just be wholesome and good. So before you know it companies and merchants began to commercialize it by promoting gifts, cards, and candy. Due to this Jarvis campaigned, lobbied, launched lawsuits all with the intention of having it removed from the calendar. She ulimtately fought and denounced the holiday until her death in 1948. I understand her conviction and love her intention. Sadly, it was turned into a well oiled money making machine and that paper was too good to pass up. This does not mean that we can’t be in the “know” and go back to the roots and celebrate this holiday for it’s true intention.
The Mother’s Day Movement
Movements begin as little sparks or flames then pick up momentum and grow to affect substantial change. Now picture this….Mother’s Day 2021….on Sunday May 9th we wear white carnations and spend time with a mom in our life and use the money typically spent on BS (flowers, gifts, etc) and donate it to help families around the world that have lost their mom’s to COVID or mom’s and families around the world in need. GENIUS RIGHT?! Let’s do it! So my call to action folks is to see a comment on this blog with a picture of your carnation. Let’s continue to inspire change and challenge the old way of doing things.
Check out this movement as well to donate and get involved:
mothersdaymovement.org <------- CLICK LINK
Alright folks Mindful Movement Monday May edition is just getting started but I hope you get involved in this one. Check out the recommendations below and come back for more tomorrow with What’s Brewing With You Tuesday!
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