The custom of honouring mothers began thousands of years ago. It started in Rome and became a United states national holiday less then 100 years ago. Mother;s day made is way to United States in early 1900's and finally became a national holiday in 1914.

The earliest tributes to Mother's day date back to the annual spring festival the Greeks dedicated to Rhea, the mother of many dieties, to the offerings that the ancient Romans made to their Great Mother of Gods, Cybele.

In England the holiday was expanded to include all mothers. It was then called Mothering Sunday.

In U.S.A it started with a woman named Anna Jarvis who is considered to be the real founder of Mother's Day in America. She was born in 1864 and lived in Grafton, West Virginia during her youth. The Civil War had ended when Anna was only one year old, yet there was still much hatred among families in West Virginia. Anna heard her mother say many times that she hoped "sometime, somewhere, someone will found a Mother's Day." She was convinced that if the family honoured their mother on a special day, the fighting and hatred would end.She also remembered her mother say that their are many days dedicated to men but not for Mothers.

When Anna's mother died, Anna made a promise to herself that she would be the "someone" to make her mother's wish come true. At her request the minister in Grafton, West Virginia, held a Mother's Day service on May 12, 1907, and this service is remembered as the first Mother's Day celebration in the United States.

On May 8, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation declaring the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day in every state.

That was the first official Mother's day and the tradition carriers on to this day. The US flag is to be displayed on the Government buildings and at peoples home as a public expression of our love and Reverence of the Mothers.

Before Anna she died in 1948, her idea had spread around the world, and more than forty countries were observing Mother's Dae.