A Mother's Day proclamation

by Maryjane Butters
| May 2, 2010 9:00 PM

This spring, as Mother's Day approaches, let's join hearts to celebrate the women among us today - and those throughout history - whose families have been challenged, changed and claimed by the effects of war. I suggest this particular celebration not only because of the ongoing trials in the Middle East, but also because Mother's Day actually originated as a day for mothers of all nationalities to rise up and demand peace.

Julia Ward Howe, an American social activist and suffragist in the 1800s, spearheaded a prominent feminist political movement when she wrote the lyrics to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," inspired by her experiences working with widows and orphans of the American Civil War. Despite the fact that her husband did not actively support her efforts, Howe charged forth with a new facet of her mission to empower women in 1870. Weary of the war that had recently raged upon her home ground, and distressed at seeing the resurgence of battle overseas during the Franco-Prussian War, Howe rallied women to rise up and oppose the violence. She issued a powerful "Mother's Day Proclamation," imploring women to join forces across national boundaries and form a union that would be bound by a dedication to political pacifism and committed to seeking peaceful resolutions to conflict worldwide. With her proclamation, Howe sought to embolden women by inspiring an undeniable sense of responsibility for shaping society at the political level. "Arise, then, women of this day!" she wrote. "As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel."

The second Sunday in May

Although the United States government did not declare an official Mother's Day for Peace as Julia Ward Howe had hoped, the torch was carried further by a woman named Anna Jarvis, who continued the crusade to found a memorial day for mothers. Jarvis' own mother, a young Appalachian homemaker, had organized "Mothers' Work Days" during the Civil War, gathering a labor force of women to help improve sanitary conditions for soldiers on both sides. On May 12, 1907, two years after her mother's death, Anna Jarvis organized a memorial to her mother at the Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, W.Va., declaring it "Mother's Day." She asked all attending to wear white carnations to signify sweetness, purity and endurance - and they were also her mother's favorite flowers. One year later, Anna Jarvis convinced the church to designate the second Sunday in May as a local holiday to commemorate mothers.

Jarvis' commitment to the holiday's official declaration captured the hearts of families throughout West Virginia and beyond, spurring the celebration to spread to 45 states and resulting in its declaration as a state holiday in 1912. Ironically, President Woodrow Wilson at last signed a congressional resolution that officially established a national Mother's Day in 1914, the year when World War I ("the war to end all wars") erupted. It would eventually claim more than 15 million mother's sons.

Righteous mothers - unite!

Today, Julia Ward Howe's "Mother's Day Proclamation" is as timely as ever. Even though many more women are now passionate about pursuing political ambitions and public efforts to encourage peace, the struggle continues. A perfect way to honor our hard-earned Mother's Day this year is to gather up a group of friends, pool your pocket change and pick up a copy of a CD called "Best of the Righteous Mothers," featuring "Arise," a modern musical version of Julia Howe's proclamation (www.righteousmothers.com). The Righteous Mothers are four funny, philosophical female folk-rock musicians from the Northwest who say they "aim to challenge our audiences and ourselves to expand awareness through empathy and humor."

A modern Mother's Day for Peace

If listening to the "Mother's Day Proclamation" has fueled your passion for world peace, there is a unique opportunity to contribute to the cause through Mother's Day for Peace (www.mothersdaypeace.org). The effort is part of the Ploughshares Fund, created in 1982 by philanthropist, activist, mother and grandmother Sally Lilienthal, to give the average citizen practical ways to help solve the urgent nuclear threat. The extraordinary thing about donating to this unique fund is that your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a group of moms who call themselves Julia's Circle (aptly named for Julia Ward Howe). Thanks to these women's vision and generosity, your Mother's Day gift will go twice as far toward making the world safer for children and families everywhere.