As the name suggests, Mother’s Day is a celebration of the mother of the family, of her relentless contributions towards the growth and well-being of her children. While one day is really not enough to pay tribute to, and honor the mother, the day encourages people to come out in support and acknowledgement of everything that a mother tirelessly does, day in and day out.

The day is celebrated annually in many countries around the world. While the dates vary every year, it is largely celebrated on the second Sunday of the month of May every year. This year, it is being celebrated on May 9.

History

Arguably, the tradition of a day to celebrate mothers can be traced back to the times of the ancient Greeks, who held festivities to honor Rhea, the mother of the gods.

Early Christians celebrated the fourth Sunday of Lent as a Mother’s festival to honor Mary, the mother of Christ.

In the UK, the tradition of Mother’s Day is now very similar to its American counterpart, but its origins are different, as the day commemorates returning to your mother church on the fourth Sunday in Lent.

The English colonists who settled in America discontinued the tradition of Mothering Sunday, as presumably, it would have been a bit of a trip to return to their mother church for the day.

The American tradition

For a holiday, that became popular in fairly recent times, we can still manage to find three originations for the day.

A true American Mother’s Day was first suggested in the United States by Julia Ward Howe, writer of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. She suggested that the day be dedicated to peace. Starting in 1872, she organized Mother’s Day meetings in Boston every year.

However, some would argue that Mother’s Day on the current date was almost accidentally set in motion by Mrs Juliet Calhoun Blakely. On Sunday 11 May 1877, Mrs Blakely’s birthday, her son who was the pastor of her Church, left the pulpit abruptly. Mrs Blakely then stepped to the pulpit and took over the rest of the service, calling for other mothers to join her.

Mrs. Blakely’s two sons felt so moved by their mother’s actions that they vowed to return to their hometown of Albion, Michigan., every year to mark their mother’s birthday. In addition, the brothers urged others to honor their own mothers on the second Sunday of May.

In terms of the holiday gaining its national status, undoubtedly the main driver was a Philadelphia schoolteacher called Anna M. Jarvis.

In 1907, Miss Anna, began a movement to set up a national Mother’s Day in honor of her mother. Anna’s mother, Mrs Anna M. Jarvis, had been instrumental in developing “Mothers Friendship Day” which was set up to assist in the healing process after the Civil War. Miss Jarvis wanted to set aside a day to honor all mothers, living and dead.

Miss Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, evangelists, businessmen, and politicians in their crusade to establish a national Mother’s Day.

The first Mother’s Day observance was a church service for the second anniversary of her mother’s death,on the second Sunday of May. Anna handed out her mother’s favorite flowers, white incarnations.

The following year, Mother’s Day was also celebrated in Miss Anna’s own city of Philadelphia. By 1911, Mother’s Day had spread nationwide and was being celebrated in almost every state in the Union.

In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as a national holiday in honor of mothers.

Over the years, Mother’s Day became increasingly popular, and the current tradition of card and gift-giving increased. It is said that the commercialization of Mother’s Day angered Anna as she felt that the original sentiment of the day was being sacrificed at the expense of greed and profit.

Mother’s Day is now one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions. According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother’s Day is now the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States. This year, consumers are expected to spend $21.2 billion on Mother’s Day, an increase of 5 percent from last year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.

The Greeting Card Association estimates that more than 150 million Mother’s Day cards are exchanged in the U.S. every year, making Mother’s Day the third-largest card-sending holiday after Christmas and Valentine’s Day.

How can we celebrate Mother’s Day at home?

A midnight surprise

Blow a few heart-shaped balloons and hang them in the room, just so she is blown off. You can also buy some helium balloons and put love notes on the loose ends of the strings for her to read.

Bake a cake

Nothing spells special like hand-baked items. If you’re unsure about your baking skills, there are numerous YouTube channels on bakery available online these days. You can follow some who can guide you on how to make cakes.

Play a beautiful message

Get family and friends to send birthday messages for her. Print them on colored papers put them in a jar and present them to her. If you want to add a personal touch, ask them to send a video message to surprise her with their presence virtually.

Make a photo collage

Alternatively, you can make a collage of the pictures and present it as either a soft or hard copy. This is sure to get you a big hug and a kiss! Collate all your pictures and make a touching slideshow presentation with all her favorite songs running in the background. Warning: This might bring some tears to her eyes.

Plan well and assign an alphabet from H-A-P-P-Y B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y to her loved ones (including you). You can either write down the alphabets or get them printed and ask each one of them to pose with it and send you the photo. Once all the pictures come in, make a collage, present it to her and see the glee on her face.

Watch the latest movie

Nowadays, you don’t have to check on theaters to watch the latest movie.OTT platforms like Netflix, Hotstar bring all the recent releases on your device. Make good use of it by watching with her and spending some quality time.

Flip through a previous album

You can sit along with her and refresh the memories and photographs of her. This will give both of you the flashback of good old times.