Mother's Day in the United States is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Other countries, such as the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, and Belgium all have similar celebrations.

England has a "Mothering Sunday," which is similar but not identical to Mother's Day elsewhere in the world. It is also called "Mid-Lent Sunday," and it is observed on the fourth Sunday during Lent. Even England's tradition is giving way to the modern celebration. Now it is held the second Sunday in May there, too.

Anna Jarvis, born in Grafton, West Virginia in 1864, was the person who started the holiday. She believed that mothers should be honored for their work. She wrote letters to politicians, newspaper editors, and church leaders. She organized a committee called Mother's Day International Association to promote the new holiday. She wanted it to be close to the Memorial Day holiday. That's so people would recognize mothers for the sacrifices they made in the same way that service people made sacrifices for their country.

The first official Mother's Day was in May 1907. President Woodrow Wilson gave the day national recognition in 1914. In a strange twist of fate, Jarvis spent the last years of her life trying to abolish the holiday. She believed it was a business venture for many companies. She believed it no longer served its true purpose.