Today is the day to thank your mom for everything she does, and has done, for you. It’s Mother’s Day in the United States and was initiated as a holiday in 1908 when a woman named Anna Jarvis wanted to memorialize her mother.
The day is meant to honor mothers and motherhood or, as Jarvis said, because a mother is “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world”.
Mother’s Day is celebrated in more than forty countries, not all on the same date but usually in the first half of the year. There are a handful of countries that celebrate mothers and mothering in the last quarter of the year (October-November-December).
In the United States, carnations are meant to be given. White carnations remember a mom who has passed, and colored carnations thank those who are living.
Jarvis, the creator of the holiday, lamented how commercialized it became, and protested at a candy makers convention in 1923 and at a meeting of the American War Mothers in 1925 when they sold carnations as a fundraiser.
There are some who even credit commercialization (especially by the floral industry) with keeping the holiday current and not allowing it to fade away.
Happy Mother’s Day! Sonja