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Mother's Day is often associated with Mothering Sunday, a Christian holiday. They are not related to each other.
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Mother's Day has also been linked to Cybele, a Greek tradition and Hilaria, a Roman festival. Again, they are not related to Mother's Day.
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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.
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In 1912, Anna Jarvis trademarked both ‘Mother's Day' and ‘the second Sunday in May'. She also created Mother's Day International Association.
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Mother's Day became a recognized holiday in 1914 in the United States.
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By the 1920s it had become so commercialized already that Anna Jarvis was disappointed.
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The holiday was then adapted into many other countries.
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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.
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Approximately 122 million phone calls are made to moms on Mother's Day in the United States.
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In most countries and languages, the word for mother begins with ‘m'.
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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.
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A legend states that carnations were made from the tears of Jesus' mother when she wept at his feet when he was crucified.
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Of all the flowers bought for holidays, one quarter are purchased for Mother's Day.
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The amount of money spent on Mother's Day in the U.S. is approximately $14 billion.
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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.
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Research has proven that there are actually health benefits to receiving flowers.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Mother's Day is celebrated in close to 50 countries in different parts of the world.
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