If you thought Mother’s Day started out as a ploy by greeting card companies to pocket your hard-earned money, you’re in for a big surprise.
Though the annual American holiday became a commercial affair years after its founding, it actually began in 1905 as a way to honor the legacy of activist Ann Reeves Jarvis.
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In 1868, decades before her death, Jarvis organized a “Mothers’ Friendship Day” to help women from opposing sides of the Civil War talk to each other and find a path to reconciliation.
If that sounds like a timely approach to all that ails America today, you’re not alone. Organizers at the Women’s March thought so, too, and launched a Mother’s Day project called “Daring Discussions” in the spirit of bringing a divided country closer together. Read more…
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