5 Interesting Mother’s Day Facts You Didn’t Know
It’s a day we honor mothers and mother figures for their contribution to family and society, and has also become one of the biggest holidays for consumer spending: Mother’s Day. Our brains automatically think of flowers, cards, and trying to get last minute reservations for brunch at her favorite restaurant. But truth be told: Mother’s day is steeped in history; a day whose origins can be traced all the way back to the Greeks and Romans. Enjoy these five historical facts you may not have known!
1) The holiday was founded for mourning women to remember fallen soldiers and work for peace. Anna Jarvis, the woman behind our traditional Mother’s Day celebration on the second Sunday of May, wanted to carry out her own mother’s wishes of having a day just for moms. Anna tirelessly campaigned and on May 8th, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a Joint Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. The idea of an intimate Mother’s Day quickly went commercial, centering on the buying flowers, candies, and greeting cards. Anna Jarvis gave everything to fight it, but in the end, it cost her everything, financially and physically.
2) The origins of Mother’s Day are attributed to different people. Besides Ann Jarvis, many believe that Julia Ward Howe and Juliet Calhoun Blakely were important in establishing the tradition of Mother’s Day in the United States. It’s said that Juliet Calhoun Blakely initiated Mother’s Day in Albion, Michigan, in the late 1800s when her sons paid tribute to her each year and urged others to honor their mothers. Then in 1870, Julia Ward Howe called for Mother’s Day to be celebrated each year to encourage pacifism and disarmament amongst women. It continued to be held in Boston for about ten years until it died out.
3) In the 1600’s England, Mothering Sunday, the fourth Sunday of the Christian period of Lent, began as a spring Sunday designated for people to visit their area’s main cathedral, or mother church, rather than their local parish.
4) Ann Jarvis started the tradition of wearing a carnation on Mother’s Day. A colored carnation means that a person’s mother is living. A white carnation indicates that a person’s mother is dead.
5) About 133 million Mother’s Day cards are exchanged annually, according to Hallmark. After Christmas, it’s the second most popular holiday for giving gifts.
