White Carnations & Loving Bonds: Voice Of The Township
Mother’s Day this year will be celebrated on May 11, 2025. This is a special holiday here at the township, not only because many of our staff members are mothers but a large percentage of our clientele are moms as well. It’s always a touching experience to work with parents who we know are struggling to manage their family finances while putting on a smiling face for the sake of the children they often have with them as they meet with their caseworkers. ‘How do they do it?’ I ask myself. And as I observe the interactions between mothers and their children, I see that the bonds of love between them seem to work some kind of magic that keeps these mothers strong and moving forward through some pretty tough situations.
Mother’s Day has been officially celebrated here in the United States since 1908 when Anna Jarvis established the first celebration with a service of worship at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. Anna Jarvis was the daughter of Granville and Ann Jarvis. The Jarvis family, like many families during the mid-1800s, experienced frequent tragedy and loss. Ann Jarvis gave birth to twelve children over the course of seventeen years. Of these children, only four survived to adulthood. The others died of diseases such as measles, typhoid fever, and diphtheria, epidemics common in Appalachian communities in West Virginia during those years. These losses inspired Jarvis to take action to help her community combat childhood diseases and unsanitary conditions. She became a community activist especially in the area of public health of children and mothers. Throughout her life Jarvis strove to honor and help mothers. Her life’s work so inspired her daughter, that a year after her death, in 1908, Anna organized the first official observance of Mother’s Day, coming near the anniversary of her mother’s death. Andrews Methodist Church held the first public service on the morning of May 10, 1908. Anna did not attend the service but sent a donation of 500 white carnations for all of those in attendance. In the afternoon, 15,000 people attended another service that Anna organized in Philadelphia, held at the Wanamaker Store Auditorium.
Jarvis made the white carnation the official emblem of Mother’s Day, a flower she described: “Its whiteness is to symbolize the truth, purity and broad charity of mother love; its fragrance, her memory, and her prayers. The carnation does not drop its petals, but hugs them to its heart as it dies, and so, too, mothers hug their children to their hearts, their mother love never dying. When I selected this flower, I was remembering my mother’s bed of white pinks.”
This year on Sunday May 11th we honor the mothers of our community, remembering all the contributions they have made to our well-being. Mothers are so important, in our personal lives and in the life of society. They give an unconditional love that provides children with a foundation of confidence and self-esteem from which they can grow up to be solid citizens. Without a doubt, our mothers are unsung heroes. Celebrate with a white carnation.
> Read Full Biography
> More Articles Written By This Writer
- Free Food, Fun & Festivities: Voice Of The Township - June 20, 2025
- Keep Kids Engaged This Summer: Voice Of The Township - June 6, 2025
- Memorial Day’s Great Significance: Voice Of The Township - May 23, 2025