Mother's Day (United States) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mother's Day |
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Examples of handmade Mother's Day gifts
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| Observed by | United States |
| Type | Commercial, cultural, religious |
| Observances | Holiday card and gift giving, churchgoing accompanied by the distribution of carnations, and family dinners |
| Begins | 2nd Sunday of May |
| Date | Second Sunday in May |
| 2024 date | May 12 |
| 2025 date | May 11 |
| 2026 date | May 10 |
| 2027 date | May 9 |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Related to | Father's Day, Parents' Day |
Mother's Day in the United States is a special day celebrated every year. It falls on the second Sunday in May. This holiday is a time to honor mothers, motherhood, and the important role mothers play in our lives. It also recognizes the many good things mothers do for society.
The idea for Mother's Day was started by Anna Jarvis. The very first official celebration happened on May 10, 1908. It took place at St. Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. People often celebrate by giving cards and gifts. They might also go to church, where carnation flowers are sometimes given out. Family dinners are another popular way to celebrate. In the U.S., Mother's Day is like other holidays that honor family members. These include Father's Day and Grandparents Day.
Many countries around the world celebrate Mother's Day. These celebrations have different histories and traditions. Some have been influenced by the American holiday. For more about the international celebration, see Mother's Day.
Contents
How Mother's Day Started
Early Ideas for a Mother's Holiday
In the 1800s, some women's groups in the United States wanted to create holidays for peace. They were against war. One common activity was for mothers whose sons had fought in the American Civil War to meet. Their sons might have fought on opposite sides.
In 1868, Ann Jarvis organized a group. She was Anna Jarvis's mother. Their goal was to start a "Mother's Friendship Day." This day would help reunite families divided by the Civil War. Ann Jarvis had also started "Mother's Day Work Clubs." These clubs helped improve health for soldiers during a sickness outbreak. She wanted to make this an annual event to remember mothers. Sadly, she passed away in 1905 before her dream came true. Her daughter, Anna, then continued her mother's work.
There were a few small celebrations in the 1870s and 1880s. But none became widely known. Around that time, Protestant schools in the U.S. had many special days. These included Children's Day and Missionary Day. In New York City, Julia Ward Howe led a "Mother's Day for Peace" in 1872. This event was against war. It came with a special message called the "Appeal to Womanhood." This celebration continued in Boston for about 10 years. Then it stopped. These events aimed for mothers worldwide to work for peace.
Later, in 1877, a Mother's Day event happened in Albion, Michigan. It was related to the temperance movement, which was against alcohol. A local story says that Juliet Calhoun Blakeley finished a church sermon. The minister was upset because a group had forced his son to stay in a saloon. From the pulpit, Blakeley asked other mothers to join her. Her two sons were very touched. They promised to return every year to honor her. They also encouraged their business friends to do the same. Because of them, in the early 1880s, a church in Albion set aside the second Sunday in May. This was to recognize mothers' special contributions.
Frank E. Hering also spoke about setting aside a day for mothers. He was a leader at the University of Notre Dame. In 1904, he asked for "one day in the year as a nationwide memorial to the memories of Mothers." He saw students sending postcards to their mothers. Hering then became a strong supporter of a national Mother's Day. He believed that great men often gave credit to their mothers for their success.
Making Mother's Day Official
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Mother's Day as we know it today was created by Anna Jarvis. She got help from a Philadelphia businessman named John Wanamaker. This happened after her mother, Ann Jarvis, passed away in 1905. Anna Jarvis always said that she alone created Mother's Day.
A small church service was held on May 12, 1907. It was at the Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia. This was where Anna's mother had taught Sunday school. The first "official" church service was on May 10, 1908, in the same church. A larger ceremony also took place in Philadelphia. The next year, the day was widely celebrated in New York.
Anna Jarvis then worked hard to make Mother's Day a U.S. national holiday. She also wanted it to be an international holiday. West Virginia officially declared the holiday in 1910. Other states quickly followed.
On May 10, 1913, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution. It asked all federal officials to wear a white carnation the next day. This was to honor Mother's Day. On May 8, 1914, the U.S. Congress passed a law. It made the second Sunday in May Mother's Day. It also asked for a special announcement. The next day, President Woodrow Wilson made this announcement. He declared the first national Mother's Day. It was a day for Americans to show the flag. This honored mothers whose sons had died in war. In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved a stamp for the holiday.
In May 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on a resolution to remember Mother's Day. It passed with almost no opposing votes. The Saint Andrews Methodist Church, where the first celebration happened, is now a National Historic Landmark. It is called the International Mother's Day Shrine.
How to Spell "Mother's Day"
In 1912, Anna Jarvis got special rights to the phrases "Second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day." She also created the Mother's Day International Association. She specifically said that "Mother's" should be spelled with an apostrophe before the "s." This means it's a singular possessive. It's for each family to honor its own mother. It's not a plural possessive for all mothers in the world. This is also how U.S. President Woodrow Wilson spelled it in his 1914 announcement. The U.S. Congress and other presidents also use this spelling.
Mother's Day Traditions
Common traditions on Mother's Day include going to church. People also give out carnations and have family dinners. Mother's Day is the third biggest holiday in the United States for sending cards. It is thought that more than half of American homes send greeting cards on this day. The holiday has become very commercialized. This means businesses use it to sell many products. Some people criticize it as a "Hallmark Holiday." This term suggests it's mostly about buying things.
Why Carnations?
Carnations have become a symbol of Mother's Day. Anna Jarvis gave out 500 of them at the first celebration in 1908. Many church services later started giving out carnations too. This also began the tradition of wearing a carnation on Mother's Day. Anna Jarvis chose the carnation because it was her mother's favorite flower.
At first, white carnations were popular. But there weren't always enough. Also, florists wanted to sell more types of flowers. So, they came up with a new idea. You would wear a pink carnation if your mother was alive. You would wear a white one if she had passed away. This idea was promoted a lot. It soon became a popular tradition in churches. Other flower choices for Mother's Day can include roses, potted plants, or mixed bouquets.
The Business Side of Mother's Day
Holidays in the U.S. started becoming commercialized very early. Just nine years after the first official Mother's Day, it was already very commercial. Anna Jarvis herself became strongly against what the holiday had become. She spent all her money fighting what she saw as a misuse of the celebration. She disliked people buying greeting cards. She thought it meant people were too lazy to write a personal letter. In 1948, she was even arrested for causing a disturbance. She was protesting the commercialization of Mother's Day. She later said she wished she had never started the day. She felt it had gotten "out of control." She died later that year.
Today, Mother's Day is one of the most successful commercial holidays in America. It is the most popular day of the year to eat out at a restaurant in the U.S. It also brings in a lot of money for the jewelry industry. People buy custom gifts like mother's rings. Americans spend about $2.6 billion on flowers. They spend $1.53 billion on pampering gifts, like spa treatments. Another $68 million is spent on greeting cards.
Some people think that commercialization has helped the holiday continue. Other holidays from the same time, like Children's Day, are no longer celebrated.
Mother's Day and Sports
From 2005 to 2013, the Southern 500 car race was held on the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend. From 2014 to 2019, the NASCAR Cup Series held a race on the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend. In 2021, the Goodyear 400 car race will take place on Mother's Day itself. It will be NASCAR's throwback race. Also, the IndyCar Grand Prix has been held on the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend since 2014.
From 2007 to 2018, The Players Championship men's golf tournament was held on Mother's Day weekend. This was true except for a couple of years when May 1 fell on a Sunday. In those cases, it was held the next weekend. Before that, the Kingsmill Championship women's golf tournament was played on Mother's Day weekend from 2004 to 2009.
Professional sports players often wear pink clothes or accessories on Mother's Day weekend.
See also
Images for kids
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Examples of handmade Mother's Day gifts
