GRAFTON, W.Va. -- Mother's Day turns 100 today.

And there are doubts about whether the woman credited with creating one of the world's most celebrated holidays would be pleased with how commercial it's become.

Anna Jarvis thought the appropriate gift would be a single, white carnation to signify the purity of a mother's love.

Jarvis never married and never had children herself but got the idea for a day to honor mothers from her mother. In 1908, three years after her mother died, Jarvis organized the first official Mother's Day service at a church in Grafton, W.Va., where her mother had taught Sunday school.

That church has become a shrine to mothers around the world. And the congregation will be celebrating Sunday's anniversary by giving each mother attending a special service a white carnation.

The National Retail Federation estimates Americans will spend $15 billion honoring their mothers this year. The No. 1 expense: dining out.

Additional Resource:

• Anna Jarvis Museum
• International Mother's Day Shrine