Anna Jarvis held the first official Mother’s Day celebration in 1908.
The observance took place on May 10, 1908, at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia. Jarvis organized it as a memorial honoring her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, and motherhood more broadly. The Grafton church is now associated with the International Mother’s Day Shrine.
Jarvis did not personally attend the Grafton service. She sent a telegram and 500 white carnations for participants. A larger public ceremony also took place that day at the Wanamaker Auditorium in Philadelphia, where Jarvis spoke about the meaning of the new observance.
The year 1908 is sometimes confused with 1910, when West Virginia officially recognized Mother’s Day, or 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the national U.S. holiday. Jarvis began campaigning for the idea after her mother’s death in 1905, but 1908 marks the first official celebration.