Fun Fact: Mother’s Day Got its Start in Henderson, Kentucky

As we prepare to celebrate moms this Sunday, let's take a look back at how the holiday got its start in Henderson, Kentucky.

Mother's Day is this Sunday. It's a day dedicated to showing mom just how important she. On this day, children (and adults) shower their mom with gifts, take her out to eat, and celebrate all that moms have done for their children. The cool thing about this national holiday is that it got its start right here in Henderson, Kentucky.

How Mother's Day Got Its Start In Henderson

According to the Henderson County Tourist Commission, Mother’s Day wouldn’t be possible without the originator of Mother’s Day, Mary Towles Sasseen. Sasseen was a Henderson school teacher who planned the first Mother’s Day program in 1887 at her school on April 20th. That was also the same day as her Mother’s Birthday (my mom's too).

Mary traveled all over the country at her own expense to campaign and promote Mother’s Day at other schools and educational conferences. Finally, in 1893 Mary was able to obtain national observance of Mother’s Day.  While her dream to create this national holiday in honor of mothers, Mary never was a mother herself. According to the Henderson County Tourist Commission:

In 1926 Mary was honored by the Kentucky State Legislature as the originator of the idea of the Mother’s Day celebration. Now, over one hundred years later, we all celebrate mom each year all due to the efforts of this Henderson woman. Pretty cool piece of history of our neck of the woods that perhaps you didn't know about.