With Mother's Day around the corner, it got me thinking about the roots of the holiday. Where and how did it originate? Mother's have been honored in many different ways since the Ancient Roman and Greek times. Over the many years since then, Mother's Day has been celebrated in many different ways around the world. Here is a little history lesson on why we celebrate Mama this weekend.

The Ancient Romans and Greeks established the first noted celebration of mothers with a festival for Rhea and Cybele, the mother goddesses. The earliest celebration in the Christian parts of the world is the establishment of Mothering Sunday which led people back to their primary churches on the fourth Sunday in Lent for a celebration. Over time, this tradition turned towards honoring mothers with simple gifts and in the mid-1900's became similar to the American holiday today.

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The American version of Mother's Day stems from the activist, Ann Reeves Jarvis who began 'Mothers' Day Work Clubs' to help women learn the best way to take care of their children during themid-1800's. This gained such popularity that in 1868 Jarvis used the meetings to facilitate peaceful progression among civil war soldiers under the encouragement of the mothers in the communities. Eventually, the modern day Mother's Day became official after Jarvis' death in 1905 as a tribute from her daughter Anna. In less than a decade, the holiday was put on the calendar by President Woodrow Wilson and was marked as the second Sunday in May.

Today mothers everywhere are still honored for their dedication to their children, families, and communities on the second Sunday in May.

A fun fact about Mother's Day: "More phone calls are made on Mother's Day than any other day of the year causing an increase of 37% in phone traffic that day." (History.com)