Birthing of Mother’s Day spanned decades

The founding of Mother’s Day is arguable. Or some would say.

Books and records show that abolitionist, writer and suffragist Julia Ward Howe conceived the idea in 1872.

Howe left many personal stamps on history, including composing the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Yet the holiday celebration she advocated was regional and short-lived.

In 1904, Frank Hering, a graduate of Notre Dame and one of its football coaches and history professors, addressed the Fraternal Order of Eagles national convention in Indianapolis, imploring the crowd to honor “the great things of the world that have been achieved by mothers’ love and devotion” and suggested the Eagles set aside one Sunday each year in honor of mothers living and deceased.

According to the Eagles’ archival records, this address led to the establishment of Mother’s Day in several states.

Then in 1907, Philadelphian Ana Jarvis began a campaign to establish a national Mother’s Day in honor of her mother, who had died. Letter writing and lobbying reportedly influenced President Woodrow Wilson and Congress to declare the holiday official in 1914 and marked its celebration for the second Sunday in May.

Jarvis and Hering would later argue who actually owned the creation of the holiday. Most people would argue that mothers do.

Just the facts, Mom

•There is an estimated 80.5 million mothers of all ages in the United States.

•Fifty-five percent of women in the U.S. are moms.

•The average age when women have their first child is 25.

•Last year, more than 150 million Mother’s Day cards were exchanged in the United States, according to Hallmark. The holiday is the third largest card-sending occasion.

•Mother’s Day is the second most popular holiday for gift giving, following Christmas.

•At least 5.6 million women were stay-at-home moms in 2004.

•About 4 million women give birth each year. Of this number, about 415,000 are teenagers between 15 and 19, and more than 100,000 new moms are age 40 or older.

•There are 10 million single mothers living with children younger than 18, up from 3 million in 1970.

Salary.com conducted a random survey of more than 500 women. Both stay-at-home moms and working moms were polled to help determine the 10 top jobs that make up a mom’s job description.

The study also found that if paid, a stay-at-home mom would earn $134,121 annually (up from 2005’s salary of $131,471). In addition to their job away from home, working mothers would earn $85,876 annually for the “mom job” portion of their work.

These titles were found to best match a mom’s definition of her work: housekeeper, day-care center teacher, cook, computer operator, laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver, CEO and psychologist.