In 1907, Anna M Jarvis, to ease her grief, proposed and then organized an annual remembrance for her mother who had passed on into loving memory. It was a special memorial service that was to honor her mother with five hundred carnations-her mother's favorite flower-made into corsages.

Miss Jarvis worked, for the next seven years, to create a national holiday honoring mothers. On May 8, 1914 Woodrow Wilson declared the second Sunday in May "Mother's Day," urging an annual "public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country."

Very quickly the day became a commercial event. Anna Jarvis spent the rest of her life fighting the commercialism of this holiday that was so dear to her heart. She wrote countless letters, articles and pamphlets arguing that the holiday had been intended to inspire thoughtful, loving gestures-"through some distinct act of kindness, visit, letter, a gift or tribute to show remembrance of the mother to whom general affection is due."

Although Mother's day ended up disappointing Anna Jarvis, she did give us a beautiful day full of reflection. Keep Reading at: http://www.examiner.com/x-2016-Parenting--Education-Examiner~y2010m5d7-Mothers-Day-Family-Fun