From Grief to Greeting Cards: The True Story Behind Mother’s Day

From Grief to Greeting Cards: The True Story Behind Mother’s Day

By Richie D. Mowrey for The Sassy Gazette
Because even holidays have a backstory especially the ones that make you feel everything all at once.

Jump to Section

• This One’s Personal
• It All Started With a Grieving Daughter
• 1908: The First Mother’s Day
• 1914: Congress Jumps In
• The Holiday Gets Hijacked
• Today: A Billion-Dollar Love Letter
• What It’s Really About

This One’s Personal

As most of you know, I’ve battled opioid addiction for over 20 years. It’s a truth I carry with me every day and it’s one of the reasons this holiday hits so hard.

Because of my addiction, I hurt the one person I love most in this world: my mother. She had to make the painful decision to disown me and love me from a distance for about a year. And let me tell you that was the hardest year of my life.

There were no calls, no hugs, no “Happy Mother’s Day” text with a heart emoji. Just silence. Just ache.

We’re better now, thank God. We’ve found healing. But it’s not quite like it used to be. And oh, how I wish we could get back to that sweet, effortless closeness we once had. Some days, it feels within reach. Other days, it feels a lifetime away.

So let me say this to anyone out there reading:

Don’t give up on your mother. Because even if she has to take a step back she’s probably never given up on you.

This story my story makes the origin of Mother’s Day all the more powerful. Because it began with grief, love, and the longing to honor a mother’s sacrifices. Just like I do now.

It All Started With a Grieving Daughter

In 1905, a woman named Anna Jarvis lost her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, a Civil War nurse and activist who formed “Mother’s Day Work Clubs” to help families with sanitation and health. Ann’s love wasn’t loud or flashy it was steady, brave, and enduring. Anna, heartbroken after her death, wanted the world to honor mothers not with profit, but with purpose.

1908: The First Mother’s Day

Anna hosted the first official celebration on May 10, 1908, in Grafton, West Virginia. She handed out white carnations her mother’s favorite flower to honor the pure, sacrificial love of mothers. Her hope? That people would take the time to write their moms a letter of gratitude.

No brunch. No jewelry. No Instagram carousel.
Just love, unfiltered and unsponsored.

1914: Congress Jumps In

By 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day a national holiday, celebrated on the second Sunday of May.

Florists were thrilled. So were greeting card companies.
Anna Jarvis… was not.

The Holiday Gets Hijacked

It didn’t take long for Anna to watch her dream get swallowed by capitalism. By the 1920s, the holiday she had built from grief had turned into a cash cow. She was so horrified by the commercialization that she actually spent the rest of her life trying to repeal Mother’s Day.

She was even arrested once for protesting a Mother’s Day carnation sale.

I wonder if she knew how deeply this day would still matter to people like me, trying to make peace with our mothers and our mistakes.

Today: A Billion-Dollar Love Letter

In modern times, Mother’s Day has become one of the most profitable holidays in the U.S.

• $35.7 billion spent in 2023
• 113 million+ greeting cards exchanged
• #1 weekend for florists and restaurants

But beyond the retail frenzy, I believe the spirit of Mother’s Day is still alive. In handwritten cards. In quiet phone calls. In messy, mended relationships. In the hard-won hugs of people like me, who once feared they’d lost their mothers forever.

What It’s Really About

No matter how you spend this Mother’s Day whether it’s with a hug, a prayer, a memory, or a hope for reconciliation I hope you take a moment to reflect on this:

Behind every “Mom” is a woman who chose to keep going, even when it was hard to love us. Even when she had to love us from a distance. Even when she had every reason to walk away.

If you’re lucky enough to still have your mother in your life, don’t waste a single second.
Tell her the things you’ve never said. Apologize if you need to. Say thank you like you mean it.

Because Anna Jarvis was right Mothers deserve more than a card.

Need more stories like this raw, real, and a little bit rebellious?
Follow The Sassy Gazette at https://thesassygazette.blogspot.com for truth with a twist.

Labels: Mother’s Day, Opioid Recovery, Family Healing, Holiday History, Anna Jarvis, Sassy Gazette, Personal Story, Forgiveness, Real Talk

A Note on the Visuals:

All images featured in this post were AI-generated by The Sassy Gazette editorial team.

These visuals are crafted to evoke mood, message, and metaphor — not reality. The glitter may be digital, but the rage is absolutely real.

Because when the truth needs a little sparkle, we give it a spotlight.