Ancient cultures including the ancient Greeks, Romans and Celtic Pagans paid tribute to mothers as goddesses.

Mother’s Day in the western world began during the 17th century when those living on the British isles initiated a religious celebration of motherhood, called Mothering Sunday. It was held on the fourth Sunday during the Lenten season.

Back then the holiday featured the reunification of mothers and their children who had been separated when working-class families were forced to send off their young children to be employed as house servants. The child servants were allowed to return home for the day to visit with their parents on Mothering Sunday.

The United States celebrates Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May. It was loosely inspired by the British day and began when Anna Jarvis began a crusade to begin a memorial day for women following the death of her mother. The first Mother’s Day was celebrated in West Virginia on May 10, 1908.

in the church where the her mother had taught Sunday School. The holiday was officially declared by some states in America in 1912.