To understand the origin of an official day recognizing mothers, think back to the time of the Civil War. Back then, the town of Grafton, in what is now West Virginia, was as divided as a community could be.

Part of the problem was that Grafton was an important rail terminus, and whichever side controlled the terminus would control the area. At the very beginning of the Civil War, both North and South sent armies to seize Grafton.

It’s hard to imagine that there could be anything worse than being in the middle of a battle. For the residents of Grafton, however, there was something even worse. It was something that lacerated their very souls.

The tragedy was that the town itself was divided. When Virginia cast her lot with the Confederacy, and the area which is now West Virginia decided to stay with the Union, Grafton was in the middle. The people of Grafton split among themselves, and even families were divided.

Brothers fought against brothers and fathers fought against sons. Neighbors who had lived in harmony for years were now bent on killing each other. Churches and other civil institutions were utterly split by people who now hated each other.

When the Civil War ended, the survivors returned, often wounded and ill, to homes and finances which were both in ruins. The war had ended but intense bitterness lived on. The town faced a future of hatred, feuds, retaliation and probable bloodshed far into the future.

However, a seeming miracle intervened. A happier future awaited the town, and it was largely due to the efforts of one woman, Mrs. Anna Maria Jarvis.

In 1868, Mrs. Jarvis invited everyone in the town to attend a Mothers Friendship Day. On the appointed day, an immense crowd assembled, but tension was high. The Blues and Grays were there, which Mrs. Jarvis had hoped for, but they were armed, and a single misstep could have ignited a mini-Civil War.

Aware of the precariousness of the situation, local leaders begged Mrs. Jarvis to call off the meeting. “I am no coward,” she answered.

The program began with Mrs. Jarvis explaining that Mothers Friendship Day was to “substitute friendship for division, hatred, prejudice and enmity.” Mrs. Jarvis herself was dressed in the gray of the Confederacy, while her close friend who was actually the wife of a Confederate officer, appeared wearing the blue of the Union.

Mrs. Jarvis called on the local band to lead the audience in “Way Down South in Dixie” and then the lady in blue, who was in real life a Confederate, called on the band to play the “The Star Spangled Banner.”

The two women, representing North and South, shook hands and embraced each other, and then called on the whole crowd to do the same. While the band played, “Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot,” members of the crowd, with tears streaming down their cheeks, shook hands and embraced each other.

Thanks to the efforts of one mother, the town’s healing had begun.

From that beginning, Mothers’ Day grew year by year. In 1914, Congress passed a Joint Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. Today, American Mothers, Inc. is the official sponsor of Mother’s Day. For more information, visit: http://www.americanmothers.org