For Kids: Mother's Day is a modern holiday. People love to credit the ancients with everything. But they did not invent everything. No matter what you might see or hear on the web or on the news, Mother's Day has no ties to the ancient cultures. Can you imagine the ancient Greeks honoring their mother on a special day for all she does? To the ancient Greeks, that was her job. How about the ancient Romans? Same thing. Many ancient cultures worshiped a mother earth type goddess under various names. But that was a goddess. This is your Mom. A day to say thank your for all your Mom does for you. Not all of us have a mother, but most of us have someone who is important to us. like an aunt or a stepmom. or your best friend's mom who treats you like one of her kids. "Mom" means a woman important to us. Mother's Day provides an opportunity to say thank you.
Here's how Mother's Day got started: Anna Jarvis, an American woman, believed that all of us forget sometimes to thank our Moms for all they do for us. (True enough!) Anna Jarvis worked very hard to convince the American people that we needed one day set aside each year, for each of us to do just that, to truly and sincerely thank our own Mom to strengthen family bonds.
In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first Mother's Day proclamation, stating that the observance serves as a "public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country." (This was more of a political statement than an explanation of the holiday, but it made it official.)