Mother's Day Proclamation

This, my friends, was the original Mother’s Day proclamation, written by Julia Ward Howe in 1870, a few short years after the end of the Civil War. You may be familiar with another piece of her writing: The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

You may notice there’s no mention of brunch in there. There’s no mention of flowers. There is, in fact, very little mention of motherhood. In fact, Howe’s idea for mother’s day had nothing to do with people honoring their mothers. Instead, she tells women to “leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.” In other words, she tells them to dump their families, hit the road, and get together with other women to work for peace.

Sounds like a plan to me.