Mother’s Day is on May 14th so mark your calendar! Here are some fun Mother’s Day facts collected by Town and Country magazine:
Mother's Day isn't always on the same date each year.
The holiday is celebrated every year on the second Sunday of the month of May.
The moniker 'Mom' comes from babies.
The first thing most babies can vocalize is the 'ma' sound, which is why in almost every language the word for mother begins with the letter 'M' or is some iteration of the 'ma' sound.
More calls are made on Mother's Day than any other day of the year.
Reportedly there are approximately 122 million calls made on the second Sunday of May.
Mother's Day is the third highest selling holiday for flowers and plants.
After Christmas and Hanukkah, more people buy flowers and plants for their moms on Mother's Day than any other holiday. Approximately one quarter of all the flowers purchased throughout the year are bought for Mother's Day.
41% of Americans plan to buy their mom jewelry.
However, flowers remain the most popular gift option, with about 72% of Americans opting for a floral present.
Normally, Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants.
According to a survey by the National Restaurant Association, 48% of people make plans to go to a restaurant for Mother's Day.
Beauty salons and spas also get a Mother's Day boost.
According to the National Retail Federation, on Mother's Day, people will spend $2 billion on personal services (like spa treatments) for their mothers.
In 2022, over $31 Billion was spent on Mother's Day.
On average, shoppers spend $245 on gifts for their mothers according to the National Retail Federation.
The most popular gift for Mother's Day is the greeting card.
Every Mother's Day there are approximately 152 million Mother's Day cards sent.
One of the earliest Mother's Day celebrations was in Ancient Greece.
The Greeks would have spring celebrations in honor of Rhea, the goddess of fertility, motherhood, and generation.
The history of American Mother's Day starts with peacemaker Ann Jarvis.
During and following the Civil War, Ann Jarvis made a concerted effort to foster friendship and community between the mothers on both sides of the war. She started a committee in 1868 which established the first glimmer of today's holiday: "Mother's Friendship Day."
Ann's daughter Anna continued her legacy by creating the official holiday.
Anna Reeves Jarvis sought to honor her own mother by establishing a day of observance. The very first Mother’s Day was celebrated in 1908.
Woodrow Wilson signed Mother's Day into law in 1914.
After Anna Jarvis created the Mother's Day International Association in order to streamline the day of observance to the second Sunday in May, Woodrow Wilson legitimized the celebration as a nationwide holiday.
Anna Jarvis would later try to stop what Mother's Day became.
The holiday quickly became a commercialized opportunity for producers to sell flowers, candies, and cards. Anna Reeves Jarvis felt this was detracting from the personal and intimate aspects of the holiday and defied this by starting boycotts, walkouts, and even condemned first lady Eleanor Roosevelt for using the day as a means of fundraising. Jarvis would eventually use all her money in this fight, and died at the age of 84 in a sanatorium.
Carnations have a special meaning on Mother's Day.
Anna Reeves Jarvis used the carnation on Mother's Day to symbolize whether your mother was living. A red carnation meant she was, and a white meant she had passed.
Mother's Day is celebrated all over the world, albeit on different days.
In addition to the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, Costa Rica, Samoa, Georgia, Australia, and Thailand all have designated celebrations to honor their country's mothers.
Some countries still observe ancient festivals honoring mothers.
In India, people celebrate Durga-puja, a festival that pays homage to the mother goddess, Durga. The festival is a ten-day event that takes place around September or October.
Moms aren't the only ones getting Mother's Day love.
The average American buys 2.8 Mother’s Day cards, so most people are buying more than just one for their mom. Many people opt to buy Mother's Day cards for grandmothers, sisters, and their mother-in-law as well.
