96 Fun Facts About Mother's Day

Which Philadelphia merchant helped Anna Jarvis launch Mother's Day with a 1908 store ceremony?

John Wanamaker, the Philadelphia department-store owner, backed Jarvis's campaign and hosted a Mother's Day ceremony in his store's auditorium on 10 May 1908, the same day as the memorial service at her mother's church.

In what year did Mother's Day officially become a national holiday in the United States?

In 1914 Congress passed a joint resolution on 8 May and the president proclaimed the first national Mother's Day on 9 May, a day for public expression of reverence for mothers.

Which U.S. President signed the proclamation officially designating Mother's Day as a national holiday?

His proclamation asked Americans to display the flag in honour of mothers whose sons had died in war.

Which flower, her mother's favourite, did Anna Jarvis make the Mother's Day emblem?

The white carnation was Ann Reeves Jarvis's favourite flower; her daughter chose it for the purity of a mother's love, and florists later made pink mean a living mother and white a deceased one.

Which town's Methodist church held the first Mother's Day services in 1907–08?

Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, where Ann Reeves Jarvis had long taught Sunday school, held the first Mother's Day service on 10 May 1908; it was named a National Historic Landmark in 1992.

The 1870 'Mother's Day Proclamation' called on mothers of all nationalities to unite for what cause?

Its author led a 'Mother's Day for Peace' observance in New York in 1872 and sponsored it in Boston for about a decade before it died out.

Which US state was the first to declare Mother's Day an official holiday, in 1910, with the rest following quickly?

West Virginia, Anna Jarvis's home state, declared it officially in 1910, and the rest of the states followed quickly.

In the United States, Mother's Day is celebrated on which Sunday of May?

Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrase 'Second Sunday in May' in 1912 and insisted 'Mother's' be a singular possessive, so each family honours its own mother.

Egypt's Mother's Day was proposed by Mustafa Amin in a 1943 book about which country?

Mustafa Amin floated the idea in Smiling America, his 1943 book about the United States; Egypt first marked the day on 21 March 1956, and it was later renamed Family Day, then restored after public protest.

How many carnations did Anna Jarvis hand out at the first Mother's Day celebration in 1908, starting a custom?

500 carnations handed out in 1908 started the custom of wearing one to church on the day, later adopted by many congregations.

In the United States, Mother's Day holds what distinction among all days of the year?

The National Restaurant Association has ranked Mother's Day the most popular day to dine out in the United States, ahead of Valentine's Day and Father's Day.

Before Anna Jarvis's efforts, which activist tried to establish a 'Mother's Day for Peace' in the 1870s?

Julia Ward Howe, author of 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic', issued her Mother's Day Proclamation in 1870 and sponsored Mother's Day for Peace meetings in Boston for about ten years.

Thailand's Mother's Day, 12 August, is the birthday of which royal?

Queen Sirikit, consort of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was born on 12 August 1932; Thailand fixed Mother's Day on her birthday in 1976, having earlier observed it on 15 April.

UK Mothering Sunday is rooted in visiting one's 'mother church' during which Christian observance?

It coincides with Laetare Sunday, a day of respite from fasting halfway through the penitential season, and its modern revival was led by Constance Adelaide Smith from 1913.

In which country is Mother's Day uniquely celebrated on the third Sunday of October?

It was originally held on 11 October, the old feast of the Maternity of the Virgin Mary; when Vatican II moved that feast to 1 January, Argentines kept the October habit.

What did Ann Reeves Jarvis's 'Mothers' Day Work Clubs' focus on in the 1850s?

Ann Reeves Jarvis founded the Mothers' Day Work Clubs in 1858 to improve public health and sanitation in Taylor County, teaching hygiene to fight the area's high infant mortality; she died in 1905.

In 1868, Ann Jarvis, mother of Mother's Day founder Anna, organised a 'Mother's Friendship Day' to reunite families divided by what?

The Civil War had split families, and Ann Jarvis hoped her Friendship Day would grow into an annual memorial for mothers; she died in 1905, three years before her daughter's first service.

Bolivia's Mother's Day, 27 May, commemorates what event from its 1812 war of independence?

The Battle of La Coronilla took place in what is now Cochabamba, and the holiday was written into law in 1927.

Because it is autumn there in May, which flower is the traditional Mother's Day bloom in Australia?

Chrysanthemums bloom in Australia's May autumn and end in 'mum', so white chrysanthemums became the traditional Mother's Day flower there in place of spring carnations.

Mexico's Día de las Madres is held on which fixed date every year?

Mexico's Día de las Madres has been fixed on 10 May since the first celebration on 10 May 1922, promoted by Rafael Alducin's newspaper Excélsior.

In Mexico, it is traditional to open Mother's Day celebrations with which song?

It is often sung a cappella or performed by a hired mariachi or trio at the mother's door.

Panama celebrates Mother's Day on 8 December, the same day as which Catholic feast?

Panama's 8 December Mother's Day coincides with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception; the date was suggested in 1930 by the wife of President Florencio Harmodio Arosemena and fixed by Law 69 that year.

Indonesia's Hari Ibu on 22 December marks the anniversary of what 1928 event?

The first Indonesian Women Congress opened in Yogyakarta on 22 December 1928, bringing together some thirty women's organisations; Indonesia later fixed that date as Hari Ibu.

Sweden celebrates Mother's Day on which day of the year?

Sweden has marked Mother's Day on the last Sunday in May since 1919, when the author Cecilia Bååth-Holmberg introduced the idea from abroad.

In Japan, Mother's Day was initially commemorated on 6 March, the birthday of which imperial consort?

Empress Kōjun, consort of Emperor Hirohito and mother of Akihito, was born on 6 March 1903; Japan moved Mother's Day to the second Sunday of May in 1949.

Poland's Dzień Matki falls on which fixed date?

Poland's Dzień Matki falls on 26 May every year; unlike most of Europe, which uses a Sunday in May, Poland ties the day to a fixed calendar date, and 23 June is Father's Day.

Nepal's Mother's Day, Mata Tirtha Aunsi, is popularly known by what name?

Mata Tirtha Aunsi, on the new moon of Baisakh in April or May, is called Aama ko Mukh Herne Din, 'day to see mother's face'; children visit mothers with sweets, and the bereaved bathe at Mata Tirtha pond.

Rather than a separate Mother's Day, South Korea marks which holiday on 8 May?

South Korea replaced Mother's Day with Parents' Day (Eobeoinal) on 8 May in 1973, honouring both parents with carnations; Children's Day falls three days earlier, on 5 May.

Which organization did Anna Jarvis create in 1912 to police the holiday she founded?

Anna Jarvis incorporated the Mother's Day International Association in 1912, the same year she trademarked 'Mother's Day' and 'second Sunday in May', to defend the holiday's name against merchants and copycats.

In which Pennsylvania town did Anna Jarvis die in 1948?

Anna Jarvis died on 24 November 1948 at the Marshall Square Sanitarium in West Chester, Pennsylvania, blind and penniless; she was buried at West Laurel Hill Cemetery near Philadelphia.

Which Englishwoman, inspired by Jarvis, campaigned to revive an old church observance as Britain's equivalent?

Constance Adelaide Smith, writing as C. Penswick Smith, began the revival in 1913 and published 'The Revival of Mothering Sunday' in 1921, linking the day to Mother Church, earthly mothers, Mary and Mother Nature.

Which Central American country celebrates Mother's Day on 30 May?

Nicaragua marks Mother's Day on 30 May, a fixed date rather than a Sunday; neighbouring Honduras uses the second Sunday of May and Guatemala and El Salvador use 10 May.

In Belgium, people around which city celebrate Mother's Day on 15 August rather than in May?

Around Antwerp, Moederkesdag is kept on 15 August, the Feast of the Assumption, a tradition locals regard as the authentic one; the rest of Belgium uses the second Sunday of May.

Brazil's first Mother's Day in 1918 was promoted by the Porto Alegre branch of which organization?

The Associação Cristã de Moços, the YMCA's Porto Alegre branch, held Brazil's first Mother's Day on 12 May 1918; President Getúlio Vargas made the second Sunday of May official in 1932.

The Dutch branch of which organization introduced Mother's Day to the Netherlands as early as 1910?

That put the Netherlands only two years behind Anna Jarvis's first Grafton service.

Costa Rica's Mother's Day began as a 1927 school event by Evangelina Solís in which city?

The date was chosen to coincide with the Assumption of Mary.

Belarus first celebrated its own 14 October Mother's Day in which year?

Belarus instituted its Mother's Day by presidential decree in 1996, choosing 14 October, the Orthodox feast of the Protection of the Mother of God; before that only 8 March, International Women's Day, honoured women.

Georgia's Mother's Day, which replaced International Women's Day, falls on which date?

President Zviad Gamsakhurdia declared 3 March Mother's Day in 1991 as a replacement for the Soviet-era 8 March; Georgians ended up celebrating both, five days apart.

Bolivia's 27 May Mother's Day commemorates an 1812 battle fought in what is now which city?

The Battle of La Coronilla was fought on 27 May 1812 on San Sebastián hill in Cochabamba, where a monument to the Heroínas de la Coronilla commemorates the women who died.

Which Italian town's parish priest, Otello Migliosi, launched a Mother's Day on 12 May 1957?

Otello Migliosi, parish priest of Tordibetto in Assisi, held the celebration on 12 May 1957; it proved so popular that Italy adopted Mother's Day nationwide the following year.

Paraguay's Mother's Day on 15 May shares its date with which national observance?

Paraguay's 15 May Mother's Day coincides with its Independence Day, commemorating the May 1811 revolt against Spanish rule; the date was chosen to honour Juana María de Lara, a heroine of that uprising.

Which Egyptian president first ridiculed the idea of a Mother's Day, then accepted it for the first celebration on 21 March 1956?

Gamal Abdel Nasser, who had mocked the proposal, allowed the first celebration on 21 March 1956; Egypt's date later spread to many Arab countries.

Mothering Sunday in the UK falls on which Sunday of Lent?

It coincides with Laetare Sunday, a mid-Lent day of respite from fasting, when people once processed to their mother church.

Which fruit-filled bake is the traditional Mothering Sunday gift in Britain?

Simnel cake, a light fruit cake with a marzipan layer, was the traditional gift servants and apprentices brought home on Mothering Sunday, the mid-Lent respite from fasting; it later became an Easter cake too.

In France, the 1906 'High Maternal Merit' award went to ten mothers who each had how many children?

In 1906 in Artas, Isère, ten mothers of nine children each received the 'Haut mérite maternel' award, an early pronatalist tribute driven by alarm at France's low birth rate.

When does France's law of 24 May 1950 place the Fête des Mères?

If Pentecost falls on that day, the celebration moves to the first Sunday in June.

Israel's traditional Mother's Day on 30 Shevat marked the death of which Hadassah founder?

Henrietta Szold, founder of Hadassah and head of Youth Aliyah, died on 30 Shevat 5705 (13 February 1945); childless herself, she was honoured as the mother of the thousands of children Youth Aliyah rescued.

Ethiopia celebrates its mothers with a three-day autumn feast called what?

Antrosht is held over three days once the autumn rains end; family members gather at the mother's home with ingredients for a traditional hash, then eat, sing and dance together.

Which organisation first celebrated Mother's Day in Hungary in 1925?

The Hungarian Red Cross Youth organised the country's first Mother's Day in 1925; Hungary keeps the day on the first Sunday of May, a week before most of Europe.

In which West Virginia town was Anna Jarvis, founder of the US holiday, born in 1864?

Anna Jarvis was born on 1 May 1864 in Webster, Taylor County; she was the ninth of eleven children, and her birthplace house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Anna Jarvis's birthplace served in 1861 as the first field headquarters of which Union general?

The 1854 frame I-house doubled as a command post during the western Virginia campaign, three years before Jarvis was born in it.

Anna Jarvis said her inspiration came when her mother ended what with a prayer in 1876?

After a Sunday school lesson on 'Mothers of the Bible' in 1876, Ann Jarvis prayed that someone would found a memorial mothers day; her daughter Anna did so in 1908, three years after Ann's death.

Anna Jarvis's alma mater, Augusta Female Seminary, took which name in 2016?

Augusta Female Seminary in Staunton, Virginia, which Jarvis attended in the early 1880s, became Mary Baldwin Seminary in 1895, Mary Baldwin College in 1923 and Mary Baldwin University in 2016.

According to legend, who paid part of Anna Jarvis's sanitarium bills in her final years?

The irony was that the floral and greeting-card trades were exactly the industries she had spent her inheritance fighting.

Which US observance honours mothers of fallen service members on the last Sunday of September?

Gold Star Mother's Day, created by a joint resolution signed on 23 June 1936, falls on the last Sunday of September; the gold star recalls the service flag symbol for a family member killed in war.

In 1908 the US Congress rejected the holiday, joking it would also have to proclaim what?

Six years later Congress reversed course and passed the law designating the second Sunday in May.

Which phrase for manufactured, commercial holidays became attached to Mother's Day?

Hallmark holiday became the label; by the early 1920s Hallmark Cards and others were selling Mother's Day cards, and Jarvis organised boycotts and threatened lawsuits in response.

In 1934 which US president personally designed the postage stamp commemorating the holiday?

Franklin D. Roosevelt, a keen stamp collector, sketched the 1934 design based on Whistler's Mother; Jarvis, angry at the carnations and at commercial use, had the words 'Mother's Day' kept off it.

Frank E. Hering's 1904 plea for a national day for mothers was addressed to which group?

Hering, a former Notre Dame football coach, made the plea at a Fraternal Order of Eagles gathering in Indianapolis in February 1904, four years before Anna Jarvis's first service; Jarvis later denounced him as an impostor.

Hering said he got the idea after watching Notre Dame students send what home to their mothers?

Hering was struck by a Notre Dame instructor handing students penny postcards to write home to their mothers, and turned the idea into his 1904 plea for a national day.

What title did the American War Mothers' 1929 medal confer on Frank Hering?

Jarvis sneered that anyone can buy a medal and give it to anyone they please. He was only the fifth American, and the sole civilian, to get one.

An 1877 observance for mothers in Albion, Michigan, grew from a dispute tied to which movement?

On 13 May 1877 in Albion, Michigan, Juliet Calhoun Blakeley took over the pulpit after anti-temperance men had forced the preacher's son to get drunk at gunpoint; her sons later urged an annual mothers' tribute.

How many of Ann Reeves Jarvis's eleven to thirteen children survived to adulthood?

Only four of Ann Reeves Jarvis's children, Anna among them, reached adulthood; measles, typhoid and diphtheria took the rest, losses that drove her to found clubs fighting childhood disease.

Ann Jarvis's 1850s work clubs inspected what, long before the state required it?

The Mothers' Day Work Clubs inspected bottled milk for contamination; they also raised money for medicine and hired helpers for households where the mother had tuberculosis.

Ann Jarvis's 1868 Mothers' Friendship Day for veterans of both sides ended with which song?

The 1868 gathering ended with everyone singing 'Auld Lang Syne'; bands had earlier played both 'Dixie' and 'The Star-Spangled Banner', and many in the crowd wept.

The 1872 'Mothers' Day for Peace' was proposed as an annual observance on which date?

The proposal never caught on nationally, though the observance ran in Boston for about a decade under its sponsor.

The 1870 'Appeal to womanhood' reacted to the American Civil War and which European conflict?

Its author believed women had a duty to shape politics, and demanded a general congress of women 'without limit of nationality' to promote peace.

Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church became the International Mother's Day Shrine in which year?

The Grafton church was dedicated in 1873 to a Methodist bishop, Edward Gayer Andrews, and became a National Historic Landmark in 1992.

Why did Anna Jarvis choose the second Sunday in May for the holiday?

Ann Reeves Jarvis died on 9 May 1905; the first official service came on 10 May 1908, the nearest Sunday three years later.

Where does Mother's Day rank among US holidays for sending greeting cards?

Mother's Day ranks third among US card-sending occasions, behind only Christmas and Valentine's Day; the greeting-card industry counts more than 100 million Mother's Day cards a year.

Russia's Day of Mothers, created in 1998, falls on the last Sunday of which month?

Russia established its Day of Mothers on the last Sunday of November by a 1998 presidential decree; 8 March, International Women's Day, remained the bigger celebration of women.

Vietnam's Vu Lan festival honouring mothers falls in which lunar month?

Vu Lan, the Vietnamese form of the Buddhist Ullambana festival, falls on the full moon of the seventh lunar month, usually in August, when children pray for their parents and ancestors and release captive birds or fish.

Iced 'mothering buns' topped with hundreds and thousands are a speciality of which city?

Bristol bakers traditionally made mothering buns, sweet yeast rolls topped with pink or white icing and hundreds and thousands, as the city's Mothering Sunday treat.

Which spring bloom did British children traditionally gather for mothers on Mothering Sunday?

Children walking home for Mothering Sunday picked wild violets from the hedgerows to give their mothers; many churches later handed out posies of flowers for children to present.

The 11 marzipan balls on a Mothering Sunday fruitcake stand for the apostles minus whom?

Some bakers use 12 to represent Jesus and the eleven. Different towns such as Bury and Shrewsbury had their own recipes and shapes.

The Latin name of Laetare Sunday, when Mothering Sunday falls, is an imperative meaning what?

'Laetare' means 'Rejoice', the opening word of the day's introit 'Laetare Jerusalem' ('Rejoice, O Jerusalem') from Isaiah 66; the relaxed mood gave the Sunday its name.

On Laetare Sunday, priests may swap Lenten violet vestments for which colour?

The day was also called Rose Sunday, partly because popes once blessed the Golden Rose sent to Catholic sovereigns at this time.

Which Sydney woman began Australia's Mother's Day gift tradition in 1924 for forgotten mothers?

Janet Heyden of Leichhardt, Sydney, began collecting gifts in 1924 for lonely, aged mothers at the Newington State Home for Women, a campaign that grew into Australia's Mother's Day gift-giving custom.

Because of its traditional Gospel miracle, Laetare Sunday was once called the Sunday of the what?

The old Gospel for Laetare Sunday was the feeding of the five thousand from five loaves and two fish, so the day was also called the Sunday of the Five Loaves; the reading underlies the tradition of cake gifts.

The gold class of Nazi Germany's Mother's Cross required a woman to have how many children?

The Cross of Honour of the German Mother, instituted in 1938, came in bronze for four or five children, silver for six or seven and gold for eight or more; Jewish mothers were excluded.

In 1941 which French leader's wartime government used the holiday to promote larger families?

Marshal Philippe Pétain's Vichy government promoted the 1941 Fête des Mères to encourage larger families, honouring all mothers for the first time rather than only those of large families, as the 1920 day had.

Which French city planned a 'journée des Mères' in 1918, then reserved it for big families?

Lyon planned a journée des Mères in 1918 to honour mothers who had lost sons and husbands in the war, but the tribute was soon limited to mothers of large families.

South Sudan, newly independent, set its 2012 Mother's Day on which day of the year?

President Salva Kiir proclaimed the first Monday of July as Mother's Day in the new republic; the first observance fell on Monday 2 July 2012, almost a year after independence from Sudan.

Taiwan's second-Sunday-in-May Mother's Day coincides with which other celebration?

Taiwan's government fixed Buddha's Birthday on the second Sunday of May in 1999, so it coincides with Mother's Day; the Tzu Chi Foundation marks Buddha Day, Mother's Day and Tzu Chi Day together.

Iran's Mother's Day falls on the birthday of which figure in the Islamic calendar?

Iran marks Mother's Day on 20 Jumada al-Thani, the birthday of Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad; before the 1979 revolution it fell on 16 December, the founding date of the Institute for Women Protection.

Norway's first Mother's Day, in 1919, was held in which month?

Norway held its first Morsdag on 9 February 1919, organised by religious groups; the day has remained on the second Sunday of February, typically marked with breakfast in bed, flowers and cake.

A 1930s Dutch advertising slogan paired Mother's Day with what?

The 1930s slogan 'Moederdag – Bloemendag' (Mother's Day – Flowers' Day) came from Dutch florists, who had pushed the holiday since 1925 with books, radio spots and newspaper advertisements, copying German and Austrian colleagues.

A 2000s Chinese campaign proposed which bloom, once planted by mothers, as the Mother's Day gift?

Li Hanqiu's society of Confucian scholars proposed a Chinese Mother's Day honouring Meng Mu, mother of Mencius, with lilies as the gift, since mothers in ancient China planted lilies when their children left home.

In Belgium, what is the mother traditionally served in bed on Mother's Day morning?

Belgian children serve their mother breakfast in bed of croissants and koffiekoeken (sweet pastries), then hand over presents made at primary school during the previous week.

In which Nordic country is Mother's Day an official flag day?

Finland's Mother's Day, the second Sunday of May, is an official flag day; the president also decorates a group of exemplary mothers each year with the Order of the White Rose medal.

At Ethiopia's three-day feast for mothers, what do the boys traditionally bring?

Girls bring spices, vegetables, cheese and butter; the mother hands out the finished hash, and afterwards women anoint their faces with butter.

In Samoa, Mother's Day is on the second Sunday of May, with a national holiday on which day?

Samoa observes Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May and takes the public holiday on the following Monday; Father's Day is handled the same way, with its holiday on the Monday after the second Sunday of August.

The 2016 ensemble rom-com 'Mother's Day' was filmed and set in which US city?

Garry Marshall's final film, 'Mother's Day' (2016), was shot and set in Atlanta, with Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts and Kate Hudson leading an ensemble cast; it was panned and earned Razzie nominations.

Who plays the title matriarch in the 2010 horror remake 'Mother's Day'?

Rebecca De Mornay plays Natalie 'Mother' Koffin in Darren Lynn Bousman's 2010 remake; she takes charge after her bank-robber sons hold the new owners of their foreclosed family home hostage.

The Anglo-Saxon 'Night of the Mothers', Mōdraniht, is attested solely by which medieval historian?

Bede records Mōdraniht in De temporum ratione (725), placing it on the night before 25 December; his is the only surviving reference, and scholars link it to Germanic mother-goddess cults.

The Roman Hilaria festival on 25 March honoured which 'mother of the gods'?

The Hilaria on 25 March was part of the spring festival of Cybele, the Phrygian Magna Mater, celebrating the resurrection of Attis; masquerades were the main amusement, anyone free to dress as whomever they liked.