Mother's Day Facts

Mother's Day celebrated meant to honor mothers and their influence in society, maternal bonds and motherhood itself.

In the United States and Canada it is celebrated on the second Sunday in May, but in other parts of the world it is sometimes celebrated in March, as well as in other months.

Interesting Facts About Mother's Day

• The first Mother's Day was celebrated in 1908. Anna Jarvis honored her mother Ann Jarvis with a memorial. Ann Jarvis had started a committee in 1868 to establish ‘Mother's Friendship Day'. Her motivation had been to reunite families after the Civil War. She died in 1905, before Mother's Day became a holiday.
• In 1912, Anna Jarvis trademarked both ‘Mother's Day' and ‘the second Sunday in May'. She also created Mother's Day International Association.
• Mother's Day is celebrated in close to 50 countries in different parts of the world.
• In most countries and languages, the word for mother begins with "M".
• Of all the flowers bought for holidays, one quarter are purchased for Mother's Day.
• The most common flower for Mother's Day is the carnation; pink and red for mothers who are alive and white for those who have passed away.
• Common gifts on Mother's Day include: flowers, dinner or lunch in a restaurant, jewelry, gift cards, clothing and treats such as a trip to a spa. Books, CDs, housewares and gardening tools are popular gifts as well.
• The writer of The Battle Hymn of the Republic, Julia Howe, tried to start a Mother's Day in 1872. It was an antiwar observance first held in 1872. It continued in Boston but after 10 years it had lost its popularity.
• In the 1800s attempts were made to celebrate mothers in various parts of the U.S. but none of them reached beyond their local areas.
• In Bolivia, the date chosen for Mother's Day was based on the day that women participated in a battle. Other countries have also chosen the date for Mother's Day to coincide with holidays that also celebrate women.
• In the former Yugoslavia, children would tie up their mother on Mother's Day. In order to be freed she had to pay them with treats.
• Mother's Day became a recognized holiday in 1914 in the United States.