My traditional wish on Mother’s Day goes like this: Blessings to everyone who is a mother, step-mother, grandmother, god-mother, expectant mother, and to everyone who has a mother.
Children and mothers all over the country found ways to celebrate using social distancing. I tried to do a Group FaceTime with my own mom and my children. It worked, albeit a bit chaotic. The legacy of the Magpies lives on in my children. Click here to read my favorite Mother’s Day post and a bit about the Magpies.
Did you know that a women’s activist started Mother’s Day?
Mother’s Day started as an anti-war effort
Julia Ward Howe promoted a post-Civil War, Mother’s Peace Day to in 1872 to remind people of the horrors and losses of war.
“Howe called for women to gather once a year in parlors, churches, or social halls, to listen to sermons, present essays, sing hymns or pray if they wished—all in the name of promoting peace,” said Katharine Antolini, an historian at West Virginia Wesleyan College and author of Memorializing Motherhood: Anna Jarvis and the Struggle for Control of Mother’s Day.
National Geographic, May 2020
Anna Jarvis, who is credited as the Mother of Mother’s Day, was the daughter of one of Julia Ward Howe’s original group of activists. Even after Woodrow Wilson declared the second Sunday of May as the official Mother’s Day, many women gathered to celebrate the day as peace advocates.
Anna Jarvis spent most of her life railing against the commercialization of the day. To find out more, click here.
Jerry Stiller and the Rest of Us
Okay, it’s not good news that Ben Stiller’s dad, Jerry died this weekend. That said, who wouldn’t want to leave a legacy of smiles the way Jerry did? Festivus, the Holiday for the Rest of Us is celebrated by Jerry Stiller fans all over the world on December 23. I love Christmas time. My extended family celebrates Crandell Christmas on the Sunday before Christmas, CeCe has a Christmas Eve dinner for anyone who wants to come. We travel to Wrestler #2’s house on Christmas Day. We start our celebration with a grandkids’ pajama party New Year’s Eve, which ends with dinner and presents New Years Day. It all ends with an Epiphany Concert at our church.
So why does Festivus tickle me so? The more celebrating, the better. And I love that Jerry, a true comedy icon, gets celebrated every year.
Bird Personalities
Okay, this isn’t actually news. It’s my smile of the week. According to his twitter bio, Ferris Jabr (@ferrisjabr (rhymes with neighbor) is a science writer and contributing writer @NYTmag. He’s writing a book about the coevolution of Earth and life for @RandomHouse.
Hop over there and follow him, if you like nature and love to smile.
There’s a lot more amazing photos of bird nests. Which tickles you the most?
What’s on your good news radar this week? Please spread the good news around.