Should We Outlaw Mother’s Day?
The founder of Mother’s Day, Anna Jarvis, thought so.
Even though it was her work and influence that put this special day on the map and brought it to National Holiday status, after the commercialization set in, she began to loathe what it became. She openly denounced it, begging people to stop buying cards, flowers, and candy. By the end of her life, she spent all of her personal savings in legal fees lobbying Congress to do away with the holiday altogether.
Why? She felt that it had digressed to an occasion for merchants to make money, and rather than truly honoring their mothers, people just bought stuff. She had wanted the day to be about giving time and appreciation for mothers’ sacrifices. She felt the day she had inaugurated ended up having the opposite effect of what she was aiming for.
Holidays tend to do that. They become replacements for who we should be and what we should be doing all the time, not just one day of the year.
I don’t think it’s a reason to stop celebrating them. I think Mother’s Day is wonderful. Sadly, for some moms, it’s the only day she hears from her kids. Some of you are in church this weekend because it’s Mother’s Day (something Anna Jarvis did promote). But she won’t see you in church for the rest of the year. We’re glad you’re here, but your mom would love to have you come more often :-).
Can you imagine if your mom had sacrificed for you only one day a year while you were growing up? You might not have grown up!
Instead, Mother’s Day, and other holidays, ought to be annual reminders of who we should be, and what we should do, all year long.
Call your mom on Mother’s Day. Get her flowers or candy. But she’ll appreciate it a lot more if/when you do that on some random day in June—just because. And more than the card or flowers, she wants time with you. Not just today, but throughout the year.
If we view our holidays that way, as reminders and not replacements, then Anna wouldn’t have had a problem with the day she started. Instead, Mother’s Day, like other holidays, should become catalysts to help us be the people we should be all year long.