The History of Mother's Day

The earliest
Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations
of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods.

During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering
Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. "Mothering Sunday"
honored the mothers of England.

During this time many of England's poor worked as servants for the
wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants
would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the
servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and
spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering
cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to
honor the "Mother Church" - the spiritual power that gave them life and
protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with
the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honoring their mothers
as well as the church.

In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by
Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the
Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized
Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Mass ever year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish
a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in
Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second
anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next
year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers,
businessmen, and politicians in their quest to establish a national
Mother's Day. It was successful, by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in
almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the
official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday
that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day
at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such
as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also
celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

A Little Mother's Day Trivia:

· In the United States, there are about 82.5 million mothers. (source: US Census Bureau)

· about 96% of American consumers take part in some way in Mother's Day (source: Hallmark)

· Mother's Day is widely reported as the peak day of the year for long distance telephone calls

· Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for many restaurants

· Retailers report that Mother's Day is the second highest gift-giving holiday in the United States (Christmas is the highest).

· Most popular month for having babies in the US is August, and most popular weekday is Tuesday.

-- An article by mothersclick.com