Jody Victor:  A very special day is Mother’s Day. It’s coming up soon so make sure you mark your calendars. Mother’s Day is celebrated in more than 46 countries but not all nations celebrate on the same day. In the United States we honor mothers with cards, candy, flowers and dinner.

Mother’s day was first suggested in the United States by Julia Ward Howe, writer of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. She suggested that this day be dedicated to peace. Miss Howe organized Mother’s Day meetings in Boston every year. 

In 1877, Mrs. Juliet Calhoun Blakely inadvertently set Mother’s Day in motion. On Sunday, May 11, 1877, which was Mrs. Blakely’s birthday, the pastor of her Methodist Episcopal Church left the pulpit abruptly,  distraught over the behavior of his son. Mrs. Blakely stepped to the pulpit to take over the remainder of the service and called for other mothers to join her. 

Mrs. Blakely’s two sons were so touched by her gesture that they vowed to return to their hometown of Albion, Mich., every year to mark their mother’s birthday and to pay tribute to her. In addition, the two brothers urged business associates and those they met while traveling as salesman to honor their mothers on the second Sunday of May. They also urged the Methodist Episcopal Church in Albion to set aside the second Sunday of each May to honor all mothers,  especially their own.

While there were local celebrations honoring mothers in the late 1800’s, the recognition of Mother's Day as a U.S. national holiday was largely due to the efforts of Anna Jarvis. Anna’s mother, Mrs. Anna M. Jarvis, had been instrumental in developing “Mothers Friendship Day” which was part of the healing process of the Civil War. In honor of her mother, Miss Jarvis wanted to set aside a day to honor all mothers, living and dead.

In 1907, Miss Anna began a campaign to establish a national Mother’s Day. She persuaded her mother’s church in Grafton, W.Va., to celebrate Mother’s day on the second anniversary of her mother’s death, the second  Sunday of May. By the next year, Mother’s Day was also celebrated in her own city of Philadelphia.

Miss Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, evangelists, businessmen, and politicians in their crusade to establish a national Mother’s Day. 

This campaign was a success. By 1911, Mother’s Day was celebrated in almost every state in the Union. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made the official announcement proclaiming Mother’s Day as a national holiday to be held each year on the second Sunday of May. 

The one-woman crusade of Anna Jarvis is often overlooked in history books because women during the early 1900s were engaged in so many other reform efforts, but it is likely that these other reforms helped pave the way for Anna Jarvis to succeed in her campaign for Mother’s Day.

This year we will celebrate with our family. The kids will honor Kathy and make sure she has the day off to relax. We’ll call our mothers/grandmothers to visit and tell them how much they mean to us.

Don’t forget, Mother’s Day is May 8^th!

Jody Victor

Jody Victor: On May 24^th Kathy, Joe Victor, Kelli and I will be attending the US Dream Academy Gala. It was recently announced that the special guest for the 2005 Gala is going to be Oprah Winfrey! We are so excited to attend this event. Last year we had a blast and know this year is going to be just as great.

Oprah and Wintley are long time friends. She openly describes Wintley as her favorite gospel singer. Wintley has been on Oprah’s show numerous times and has received the Use Your Life Award.

For more information on Oprah visit www.oprah.com

For more information on Wintley visit www.usdreamacademy.org

For more information on Jody Victor visit www.jodyvictor.com

Hope to see you at the Gala!

Jody Victor