As Mother’s Day rapidly approaches, with sons and daughters across the western world scrambling for ideas to treat their mom, we thought that we’d take a trip back in time to uncover some facts around the occasion. Here are five of the most fascinating facts we could muster…
1. Mothers have been celebrated since 250 B.C.
The earliest record of Motherhood celebrations can be traced all the way back to 250B.C., where the ancient Romans would celebrate a festival known as Hilaria. This springtime occasion took place to honour the mother goddess, Cybele, with event goers holding parties, playing games and presenting offerings at the temple. The occasion would last for three days, beginning on the Ides of March (the 15th).
2. Mother’s Day owes much to feminism and one lady’s commitment to peace
Julia Ward Howe was a feminist and social activist – while her version of Mother’s Day didn’t take off the way in which a later lady’s idea would, she is ascribed with creating a Mother’s Day for Peace, during which time women would gather to stand against war.
3. The very first official Mother’s Day was started by Anna Jarvis (who wasn’t a mother)
Mothering Sunday is connected to Medieval England, where the occasion took place on the 4th Sunday of Lent during the 1600s. This form of Mother’s Day was a religiously focused event, where prayers would be held to honour the Virgin Mary. Following the service, the children within the congregation would then present gifts to their own mothers (which were usually flowers). This date would later be one reserved for the ‘modern day’ equivalent of Mother’s Day, when Anna Jarvis, the lady who is credited with creating Mother’s Day, wrote to her local church in 1908 to request a Sunday dedicated to ‘observances’. She was inspired to do this following the death of her mother. She wasn’t at that time, nor ever became, a mother herself.
4. And the creator of Mother’s Day would later come to hate the occasion
Once Mother’s Day took off, Anna Jarvis came to hate the occasion – at certain points she threatened legal action and even spoke out against the first lady Elanor Roosevelt celebrating the day.
5. Today, Mother’s Day is an incredibly busy day for telecommunication, restaurants, florists and card companies
Mother’s Day is the busiest of all days for restaurants, and it also counts as the third most significant card-sending occasion (Flavour Mag) with around 80% of all Mother’s Day cards purchased by women (Woman’s Day); this date also experiences more phone calls than any other Sunday (Pew Research) with flowers (namely carnations) being the most popular gift of all.
At Twenty Fingers, we’re always dreaming up innovative new ways to celebrate Mother’s Day. Check out our ‘Gifts for Mum’ section where you’ll find presents for new moms, expectant mummies and even dog mothers.
