Mother’s Day: Did You Know?

Photo: © JIU

Mother’s Day might seem like a rather tame holiday, with its flowers, cards and breakfast in bed for mom. But did you know the day has its origins in political protest? Or that one of its original supporters was eventually arrested for protesting its very existence? Read on for interesting “Did You Know?” facts about Mother's Day.

Did you know…

… that social activist Julia Ward Howe first brought the idea of a day centering on mothers to the United States after the Civil War, but Howe’s version was much different from the flowers-and-hugs version we know today. Howe wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation and envisioned a Mother’s Day for Peace, in which women would protest against war. Some groups still observe the holiday in this manner, one of the most famous being a huge crowd of women who gathered outside the Lawrence Livermore Library at the University of California in 1982 to protest nuclear weapons.

… that the Mother’s Day we celebrate today was started by Anna Jarvis in the early 1900s. Jarvis got Congress to recognize the holiday, founded the Mother’s Day International Association and even trademarked the phrase “Mother’s Day.” Jarvis was inspired by her own mother, who had called for “Mothers Work Days” to improve conditions for soldiers on both sides during the Civil War.

… that less than a decade after she fought so hard to make it happen, Anna Jarvis ended up despising the holiday she helped popularize. She spoke out vehemently over the commercialization of Mother’s Day, called for its demise and was arrested during one of her protests in 1948.

… that other countries celebrate their own versions of Mother’s Day. The UK has Mothering Sunday, which dates back to the 16th century and is observed on the fourth Sunday after Lent; Japan has its celebration of the Empress Kojun’s birthday, which has become just as commercialized as the American Mother’s Day; and Spain and Portugal celebrate on December 8 by honoring both the Virgin Mary and their own moms.

… that last year’s Mother’s Day press release from the U.S. Census Bureau stated that there were about 82.8 million mothers in the United States (taken from a 2004 tally).

… that Mother’s Day is the third most popular holiday in the world, second to only Christmas and Easter.

… that, according to the Pew Research Center, there are consistently more phone calls made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year.

… that florists might hawk huge Mother’s Day bouquets with exotic blooms and designer names, but the traditional gift is a single, simple carnation.

… that a research study decoded why moms love getting flowers so much. The study, conducted by Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, concluded that flowers affect human behavior, making people feel more compassionate toward others and happier in general when fresh-cut blooms are around.

… that about 80 percent of Mother’s Day cards are purchased by women.

… that Mother’s Day usually rakes in $2.6 billion on flowers, $1.53 billion on gifts (generating 7.8 percent of annual revenue for the United States jewelry industry), and $68 million on greeting cards.