Mother’s Day is a time-honored tradition of recognizing the women in our lives who raised us, dried our tears, and well, mothered us. Everyone has one or has someone who is like a mother to them.
On the second Sunday of May, we honor those women who are our mothers. Whether we shower her with gifts, take her to a fancy dinner or make her a homemade card, what moms want most is to be surrounded by the love of her family. Knowing the people they love are safe, sound, and healthy is a mom’s number one priority.
- Mother’s Day has been celebrated around the world since, well, since motherhood. In the United States, Julia Ward Howe inspired the first movement toward a national observance during the Civil War.
- Appealing to the public for a “Mother’s Day for Peace” after witnessing the devastation left by war, Howe went on an international crusade. While her efforts never gained formal recognition for an official observance, she was acknowledged posthumously in 1988 for her achievements and her efforts for women’s rights.
- In 1905, Anna Jarvis, the daughter of Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis successfully introduced the idea of a national holiday recognizing mothers.
- Ann Marie Reeves Jarvis had followed Howe’s campaign and had pursued her own volunteer efforts during the Civil War.
- Ann Marie died on May 9, 1905, and her daughter, Anna, missed her mother greatly. She started a dedicated letter-writing campaign to declare an official Mother’s Day. Through Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, the first observance occurred on May 10, 1908.
- This day, to honor Anna Jarvis’s mother, grew into a national observance until in 1911 when every state participated. Soon it was spreading internationally, and on May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day a national holiday to be held on the second Sunday of May.
- 700-500 BC: Ancient Greeks hold spring festivals for Mothers
- 16th Century: Mothering Sunday originates in the UK. This begins as a strictly religious event where people attend their “mother church” on the fourth Sunday of Lent, which is often in March.
- 1868: Mothers’ Friendship Day is created. Working toward reconciliation after the Civil War, activist Anna Jarvis organizes a day where mothers gather former soldiers from both the Union and Confederate armies to promote peace.
- 1914: First official Mother’s Day is created in the US
- 1920s: France awards medals to Mothers. In an effort to acknowledge the work toward rebuilding the population after the First World War, mothers of large families in France are given medals.
- According to a 2021 YouGov poll, American mothers’ top picks for Mother’s Day gifts were a card, flowers, and/or a special experience with their family.
- The average age for first-time mothers has gone up over the last two decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2000, the average age was 24.9 years old; in 2020 it was 27.1 years old.
- Florists might hawk huge Mother’s Day bouquets with exotic blooms and designer names, but the traditional gift is a single, simple carnation.
- Americans spend more than $3 billion on flowers and plants alone for Mother’s Day.
- According to the most recent info (a Pew Research survey from 2014), there are about 85 million mothers in the United States.
- A 2010 survey from Reuters found that Mother’s Day is the most popular day for phone calls. Additionally, Verizon reported seeing a 13 percent increase in voice calls on Mother’s Day in 2020 (compared to a typical Sunday).
- A 2019 YouGov poll found that 33 percent of Americans say they tend to spend more money on Mother’s Day gifts and celebrations, while just 6 percent said they usually spend more for Father’s Day.
- The job of a mother is never done. It’s a 24/7, 365-day commitment, and the ongoing pandemic has highlighted just how much is expected of moms (often with little-to-no outside support, especially for working moms of color). According to research from Salary.com, stay-at-home moms should, in theory, make $162,581 a year.
- According to Pew Research Center data from 2017, about one in four, or roughly 24 percent of, mothers in the U.S. are raising kids without a spouse or partner.
- According to Hallmark, Mother’s Day is the third-largest card-sending holiday in the United States — about 113 million cards are exchanged each year.
- In the U.S., Mother’s Day is one of the most popular days for both church services and dining in restaurants.
- The longest-recorded pregnancy lasted 375 days.
- Approximately 385,000 babies are born every day.
- The sound of a mother’s voice has been proven to lower their child’s cortisol levels while raising their level of oxytocin.
- The average mother will have changed approximately 7,300 diapers by the time her baby turns two and a half.
- The heaviest baby ever born, on record, weighed 22 pounds, 8 ounces.
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