Top 10 Facts About Mother’s Day

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Mothers Day is one of the biggest holidays in the world. It is a special day, when we get to celebrate our mothers and all that they have done for us. However, do you know the real meaning behind this day? For example, do you know how it started? Check out the top 10 facts about Mother’s Day to find out more.

10. Possible Beginning of Mother’s Day?

Many people associate Mother’s Day with different holidays from the past. For example, many people associate it with Mothering Sunday, a Christian holiday; Cybele, a Greek tradition; and Hilaria, a Roman festival.^[1]Soft School – Mothers Day However, none of these holidays are related to the modern celebration of Mother’s Day.

9. The Real Founding of Mother’s Day

Anna Marie Jarvis is the founder of Mother’s Day. She was the daughter of Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis, a famous social activist and organizer of Mothers’ Day Work Clubs to reduce infant mortality. The following quote from her mom helped inspire her to promote Mother’s Day.

“I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother’s day commemorating her for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life.”

In addition, through Anna Marie Jarvis’ tireless efforts, she convinced President Thomas Woodrow Wilson to sign a proclamation declaring Mother’s Day
“as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country”.^[2]NDTV – Mothers Day 2017: History Of This Day Will Force You To Question The Way It Is Celebrated

8. Mother’s Day is Extremely Profitable

Mother’s Day is actually one of the biggest profitable holidays in the United States. In fact, in 2018, according to the National Retail Federation, Americans spent $23.1 billion on gifts such as jewelry, clothing, dinners, flowers, and cards for Mother’s Day.^[3]USA Today – Mothers Day holiday spending to top $23 billion in 2018: National Retail Federation survey

7. Mother’s Day Is Individual

If you are a fan of grammar, you might be interested in this Mother’s Day fact. For example, Mother’s Day was initially founded to honor mothers as individuals and not as a whole.^[4]NDTV – Mothers Day: 8 Interesting Facts About Mothers Day Therefore, the position of the apostrophe in the name is very important.

6. M Is For Mother

Interestingly, languages around the world use words that sound very similar for mothers. In fact, many actually use words that also start with “M”.^[5]Sher Fertility – 7 Interesting Facts about Mothers Day For example, check out how the following languages say mother:

Afrikaans: Moeder, Ma

Albanian: Mëmë

Belarusan: Matka

Brazilian Portuguese: Mãe

Bulgarian: Majka

Croatian: Mati, Majka

Danish: Mor

Dutch: Moeder, Moer

English: Mother, Mama, Mom

French: Mère, Maman

German: Mutter

Greek: Màna

Hawaiian: Makuahine

Hindi : Ma, Maji

Icelandic: Móðir

Irish: Máthair

Italian: Madre, Mamma

Latin: Mater

Lithuanian: Motina

Macedonian: Majka

Norwegian: Madre

Sicilian: Matri

Greek: Mytyr

Slovak: Mama, Matka

Slovenian: Máti

Persian: Madr, Maman

Spanish: Madre, Mamá, Mami

Swahili: Mama, Mzazi, Mzaa

Polish: Matka, Mama

Swedish: Mamma, Mor, Morsa

Portuguese: Mãe

Swiss German: Mueter

Ukrainian: Mati

Romanian: Mama, Maica

Russian: Mat’

Yiddish: Muter

5. When Is Mother’s Day?

Mother’s Day was officially started in the United States. However, today people from around the world celebrate it. In fact, around 50 countries around the world officially celebrate Mothers Day.^[6]Charts Bin – Mothers Day Dates around the world However, depending on where you live, it is not always on the same date.

February

• Norway

March 8th

• Bulgaria

First Sunday of May:

• Lithuania
• Portugal
• Spain

Second Sunday of May

• Australia 
• Austria
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Canada
• Denmark
• Netherlands
• Finland
• Germany
• Italy
• Japan
• Turkey 
• United States
• Philippines                       

Last Sunday of May

• France  
• Sweden  

August

• Belgium
• Thailand

4. Anna Jarvis Ended Up Hating Mother’s Day

Anna Jarvis, who worked so hard to get Mothers Day officially recognized, ended up hating the holiday. That is because it quickly became a commercialized holiday. Interestingly, Jarvis actually campaigned to rescind Mothers Day as an official holiday.^[7]The Daily Meal – 12 Things You Didn’t Know About Mothers Day Gallery However, she failed and was sent to a sanitarium in the 1940s. Ironically, it was the greeting card industry that footed the bill.

3. Overcrowded Restaurants

Not surprisingly Mothers Day is the busiest day of the year for the restaurant industry. In fact, around 80 million people eat out on this day, making it more than even Valentine’s Day!^[8]Mental Floss – 10 Things You Might Not Know About Mothers Day Additionally, around 50% of people go out for dinner. Therefore, if you want to avoid the crowds, consider going out for lunch instead.

2. Mother’s Vs. Father’s Day

When comparing Mother’s vs. Father’s Day, mothers definitely win. For example, on average, people spend around $172 for mothers on Mother’s Day while only spending around $126 for fathers on Father’s Day.^[9]National Retail Federation – Father’s Day Spending to Reach Record-High $14.3 Billion

1. Carnations and Mother’s Day

Around the world, carnations are the flower of Mother’s Day. In fact, the story goes that Mother Mary made carnations from her tears when she cried at Jesus’ feet at his crucifixion.^[10]msn – 9 interesting facts about Mother’s Day In addition, today, the tradition is for children give red and pint carnations to their mothers and for people to give white carnations to those who have passed away.