100th Anniversary of Mother's Day, Celebrated in Its Hometown

100th Anniversary of Mother's Day, Celebrated in Its Hometown

Did you realize that Mother's Day was started by a Philadelphia woman, Anna Jarvis, exactly 100 years ago? She did it to commemorate her own mother's life.

And on Friday, May 9th, Philadelphia will have a "City of Motherly Love" celebration, with a concert and lunchtime festivities at the eagle (right), that famous statue in the main concourse of the Macy's department store in center city.

There is a historical marker recognizing Mother's Day at Market and Juniper Streets (above), in the shadow of City Hall. Wanamaker's department store, built right across the street and now occupied by Macy's, was the site of the first Mother's Day celebration, and Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker helped Jarvis get Mother's Day declared a legal holiday by Congress.

The hourlong event at Macy's begins with a tribute to Jarvis on the Wanamaker pipe organ. The Tasty Baking Company will serve a giant cake with a special Mother’s Day message.

The City of Philadelphia will present an official proclamation honoring the country's 82 million moms.

Also on May 9th, a giant bouquet of white carnations and roses will be placed at the gravesites of Anna Jarvis and her mother at Philadelphia’s historic West Laurel Hill Cemetery. Jarvis’ mother passed away on May 9, 1905, at the age of 72, and Anna died in 1948.

And that's Positively Philadelphia!