Green Daily

Mother's Day can sometimes feel like a made-up holiday, designed to make us buy more stuff, but Mother's Day actually has quite a weighty history. Mother's Day was started in the U.S. by Julia Ward Howe after the Civil War and was intended as a call to unite women against war. Howe was unable to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace and Howe's daughter, Ann Jarvis, took up the cause to found a memorial day for women. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother's Day, intended as a day for Americans to fly in the flag in honor of the mothers whose sons had died in war.

It only took nine years for the commercialization of Mother's Day to become so rampant that even Anna Jarvis became an major opponent of the holiday. And of course, as we all know, Mother's Day continues to be a highly commercialized day. While we can't deny what Mother's Day has become now, we can take a moment to remember its history.

Of course, it is always nice to honor our own mothers, whether it be through a simple visit, phone call or letter, because those are the best gifts. If you do feel inclined to buy mom a gift, keep it simple and check out Ellen's Top 10 Green Gift Ideas for Mom.