5 Wonderful Facts You Never Knew About Mother’s Day

Every second Sunday in May we take some time out on celebrating  as a special day to honor the woman who brought us into the world. Mother’s Day has become an establishment in only regarding each country around the world. however, how did this holiday come into existence and how could we honor all the mothers who sacrificed for their children? Here are five superb facts you never knew regarding Mother’s Day.

1. The idea for Mother’s Day has been around longer than you thought

Who made-up Mother’s Day? That depends on who you ask. Ancient Greeks and Romans each had festivals celebrating the celestial mother (and by extension, all different|the opposite} ones) and plenty of other civilizations used spring (or autumn) festivals to conjointly celebrate motherhood. Also, some nations selected to honor mothers for having uncountablekids, typically in times of war: each WWII Germany and Napoleonic France gave out medals to mothers.

2. The inventor of Mother’s Day became its loudest critic, and end up institutionalized.

Jarvis was so excited with the just about instant commercialisation of the holiday therefore she tried — and unsuccessful — to have it rescinded in 1943. Among Jarvis’s targets for criticism was none apart from Hallmark Cards. “A maudlin, insincereprinted card printed card means that nothing except that you simplyare too lazy to write to the womanwho has done more for you than anyone else within the world,” Jarvis is reported as saying. “And candy! you take a box to Mother — then eat most of it yourself. a pretty sentiment.”

A fighter and rabble rouser her entire life (she was once jailed for disturbing the peace at an american War Mothers rally), sadly in her 80s Jarvis complete up institutionalized at Marshall squaresanitarium in Pennsylvania, where she remained until her death in 1948.

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3. Mother’s Day never falls on Easter

In the U.K., Mother’s Day was originally Mothering Day, and was tied to the lunar calendar, celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. In the U.S., Mother’s Day is determined by the solar calendar, being the second Sunday in May. In both cases they occur on a Sunday on which Easter cannot fall, so the two days will never be celebrated together.

4. People love their moms more than their dads or sweethearts.

Or at least, more floral sales and restaurant reservations are made on Mother’s Day than on Father’s Day or even Valentine’s Day. One quarter of all yearly flower sales are sold for Mother’s Day. According to the National Restaurant Association, 80 million people eat at restaurants on Mother’s Day, versus 70 million on Valentine’s Day and 50 million on Father’s Day.

Pretty much the only consistent rule of food for Mother’s day is “plenty of it and she doesn’t cook it herself.” Shockingly enough, while brunch is very popular, it’s still not as popular as going out for dinner, so unless you make your reservations early, you may be stuck at home. If you’re hosting dinner at home take heart, there’s no “official” meal for the holiday so basically the best thing to do is make whatever she wants.

On top of restaurant sales, there’s the jewelry sales, greeting card sales, and a huge boost in pampering — hair styling appointments, spa days, nail salon visits. Mother’s Day is the third-biggest retail holiday of the year, with spending reaching $21 billion in the U.S. (Father’s Day trails behind with $12 billion — sorry, Dads).

5. Carnations are the official flower of Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day inventor Anna Jarvis chose her mother’s favorite flower, white carnations, as the official flower for the holiday. Explaining her choice, she once said, “Its whiteness is to symbolize the truth, purity, and broad charity of mother-love; its fragrance, her memory, and her prayers. The carnation does not drop its petals, but hugs them to her heart as it dies, and so, too, mothers hug their children to their hearts, their mother love never dying. When I selected the flower, I was remembering my mother’s bed of white pinks.”

From the U.S. to Europe, Asia and Australia, carnations are the symbol of the holiday. In some cultures they represent gentle strength; some Christian countries compare them to the tears of the Virgin Mary. Not only are carnations given to mothers, but children also wear them in her honor: red and pink ones if your mother is alive, and white carnations if she’s passed on.

In Australia, chrysanthemums are considered appropriate, since they’re called “mums.” In Thailand, jasmine is a popular floral gift. Carnations and roses are the two biggest sellers, but seriously, any kid knows that picking random flowers out of the yard and tying them together makes the best Mother’s Day arrangement of them all.