Shocking history of Mother’s Day: Started by a woman who wasn’t a mother

The modern version of Mother’s Day in the United States is being attributed to Anna Jarvis. Believe it or not, she was never a mother. In 1908, she organized the first observance to honor her own mother who died three years before that year.

Anna’s mother Ann Jarvis had an aim to community-service day for mothers to help other mothers who are in need. She and her brother, who was a doctor, organized the Mothers’ Day Work Clubs with the purpose to educate women about proper hygiene and ways to make their children healthy.