This copy of the VOA Special English text is used only for educational purposes.

Mother�s Day

HOST:

Sunday, May ninth, is Mother�s Day in the United States. Shep O�Neal has that story.

ANNCR:

Mother�s Day began with a woman named Anna Jarvis. She started a campaign in the early nineteen-hundreds. She and others wrote thousands of letters to important people. In nineteen-fourteen, President Woodrow Wilson and Congress finally agreed. They declared a national observance to honor mothers.

Since then, the second Sunday in May has been a day for public expressions of love for Mom.

Here is a song that expresses that love. The recording is by Lou Reid. The song is called �Mom�s Picture Book.�

(MUSIC)

On Mother�s Day, children of all ages give special gifts. Popular ones are flowers, or books, or candy. Some young children learn a Mother�s Day song in school. This song also helps them learn how to spell.

(MUSIC)

Even children old enough to have their own children will not forget their mothers this Sunday. Mother�s Day is one of the busiest days of the year for telephone companies.

This copy of the VOA Special English text is used only for educational purposes.