Who Founded Mother’s Day?

COMMUNITY NEWS Who Founded Mother’s Day?

Did you know that the woman who organized the first Mother’s Day celebration in the United States objected to the holiday being commercialized? Here is the story, courtesy of History.com:

Mother’s Day is a holiday honoring motherhood that is observed in different forms throughout the world. In the United States, Mother’s Day 2021 will occur on Sunday, May 9.

The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. Jarvis would later denounce the holiday’s commercialization and spent the latter part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar.

While dates and celebrations vary, Mother’s Day traditionally involves presenting moms with flowers, cards and other gifts.

History of Mother’s Day

Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.”

Once a major tradition in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, this celebration fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a time when the faithful would return to their “mother church” — the main church in the vicinity of their home — for a special service.

Over time the Mothering Sunday tradition shifted into a more secular holiday, and children would present their mothers with flowers and other tokens of appreciation.

This custom eventually faded in popularity before merging with the American Mother’s Day in the 1930s and 1940s.

More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. These holiday chats with Mom often cause phone traffic to spike by as much as 37 percent.

Ann Reeves Jarvis and Julia Ward Howe

The origins of Mother’s Day as celebrated in the United States date back to the 19th century. In the years before the Civil War, Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs”

Julia Ward Howe to teach local women how to properly care for their children.

These clubs later became a unifying force in a region of the country still divided over the Civil War. In 1868 Jarvis organized “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” at which mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.

Another precursor to Mother’s Day came from the abolitionist and suffragette Julia Ward Howe. In 1870 Howe wrote the “Mother’s Day Proclamation,” a call to action that asked mothers to unite in promoting world peace. In 1873 Howe campaigned for a “Mother’s Peace Day” to be celebrated every June 2.

Other early Mother’s Day pioneers include Juliet Calhoun Blakely, a temperance activist who inspired a local Mother’s Day in Albion, Michigan, in the 1870s.

“Mother’s Day” page 27

“Testimonials” from page 20

In reality, Juan Cabrillo still committed these horrible actions, and changing the name wouldn’t change that. It just would make more sense to keep the name and use the money it would’ve taken to change the name for better opportunities for the Cabrillo staff and students.

Instead, the money could help something that will benefit the Latinx, African American, and indigenous communities. This will give them support and show them they are influential and respected. •••

Cesar E. Rivera Zamora

Throughout history, there have been so many name changes of a historical figure or landmark, and sometimes they even tear that figure down to forget all the awful things that that person has done.

Because of all the dreadful things that a person had done in the past, no one really wants to go/attend somewhere with their name, and it’s no wonder why some colleges and universities are changing their names.

Cabrillo College is planning on changing its name, and it shouldn’t be a surprise why they want to do so. This has been discussed with students and staff; there has even been a meeting debating if we should change the name or not.

Changing the name would be better because it will allow all students to feel comfortable on this campus.

Some who would oppose changing Cabrillo’s name would probably say, “I don’t see the point of changing Cabrillo’s name,” or “There is way too much money on the line to just change a name.” Looking at their points, that is true. We could use all of that money and help out or even make new beneficial programs that can significantly support Cabrillo.

After all, it is just a name that most people wouldn’t care about. The name is just there to let people know where they are going and where they are attending college. That shouldn’t be a big deal. After all, there are plenty of other schools/colleges named after someone. Their points do seem logical, but a lot of people still want to change them.

Doing a deep dive of Juan Cabrillo, you realize that what he did back then was wrong and awful. More and more people at Cabrillo are starting to realize this, and they do not stand for what he has done. It may have been something in the past, but that still doesn’t matter. What he did back then was wrong and cruel, and that’s just facts.

When I heard if we should change Cabrillo’s name, I didn’t see the point because there was way too much money just to change a name. Even when I thought about it, I didn’t see a point in changing the name, then later on, as soon as I began to research Cabrillo with my class, that completely changed my perspective.

Why would we have this man’s name on a college, especially one where it’s open to the public. Juan Cabrillo was not a very good person. I was shocked that we still haven’t changed the name after all these years.

The name should have been changed years ago, but thankfully we are doing it now. If people want to feel comfortable here at Cabrillo, a name change should happen, but we should also keep a bit of Cabrillo somewhere because history should not be forgotten, and that should be a reminder not to go back to how things once were.

••• Caitlyn Schlaman

The flurry of name changes and statue removal comes as America becomes more aware of its history and the atrocities that went with that history.

The naming of places and commemoration of people, who in the past have built cities and created societies, but also have committed terrible acts against other communities, is common in America. America was built on stolen land, followed by a long history of genocide and pillaging. However, the ideals that followed these terrible people are unchanging, yet their legacies are damaging.

Cabrillo’s name holds a long-held ideal: exploration and achievement. But his legacy of raping and pillaging the communities he finds is one that Cabrillo College should not have.

Yet, Cabrillo College should not change its name because of the high costs of changing the name and the shallow action of only changing the name. There are better ways to heal the history of Cabrillo’s legacy and honor those hurt by his conquests, and also ways to separate Cabrillo College from Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo.

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System states, as of Fall 2019, the majority of Cabrillo College’s enrolled students are Hispanic or Latino. And yet, Cabrillo bears the name of a conquistador, who hurt a lot of natives.

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the conquistador Cabrillo College is named after, is a terrible person in our morally different society’s eyes. He did many terrible things, as he was a conquistador and a murderer, but he was the first European to sight California.

Cabrillo College’s namesake should be viewed as more of a name in the spirit of that discovery and intrigue rather than to commemorate Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo’s conquests. Even so, the legacy of Cabrillo’s name is still there, and those hurt from his conquests still live on.

Rather than spend millions of dollars on changing the name, there should be a scholarship or fund set up to help Native American people who attend Cabrillo College, whether they are descended from tribes in South America or those hurt by the conquests of different countries in California.

The essential thing should be showcasing all parts of California’s history, rather than eliminating one or the other. Alongside the scholarship, the college should create a commemorative statue to the natives hurt by the conquistadors and explain California’s long history.

This way, both sides of history are shown, but the legacy and celebration of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo are not at the forefront. n