Mother's Day Information

All over the world the word ‘mother’ begins with the letter, “M”.

More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than on any other day of the year.

US consumers spend around $34.6 billion dollars on gifts for Mother’s day, including jewelry, cards and taking mom out for dinner.

More people purchase fresh flowers and plants than on any other holiday!

How important is mom? Well, according to Insure.com the various tasks moms perform at home is worth $67,619 a year.

Anna Jarvis started the wearing of a carnation on Mother’s Day. A colored carnation means that your mom is living. A white carnation indicates your mom is deceased.

Mothering Sunday – a Christian holiday – is not related to Mother’s Day.

Legend states that carnations were made from the tears of Jesus’ mother when she wept at his feet when he was crucified.

There is some proof that giving flowers actually have health benefits to the receiver. They affect behavior and make people feel happier and more compassionate.

No matter where you are in the world, there is a day to celebrate mom.

Of the trademark sweaters that Mr. Rogers wore, most were knitted by his real mother on his television show – Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Honoring mothers individually and not collectively makes the reason for the apostrophe before the “S” – making Mother’s Day singular possessive instead of plural possessive.

One of the earliest Mother’s Day celebrations was in Ancient Greece. Greek festivals would honor the maternal goddess called Rhea, goddess of fertility, motherhood and generation and wife of Cronus and believed to be mother of many deities.

The moniker “Mom” comes from babies! Yep, the first thing a baby can vocalize is the ‘ma’ sound, which is why in almost every language the word for mother begins with the letter “M” or is some iteration of the “ma” sound.

Mothering Sunday – 4th Sunday of Lent, has nothing to do our traditional Mother’s Day. It was a day when children who had to go to work as domestic servants were given a day off to visit the mother and family.

Centuries ago it was considered important for people to return to their home or ‘mother’ church once a year. Every year during Lent, they visited their ‘mother church’ or the main church of the area.

The day was first suggested by a famous poet, Julia Ward Howe in 1870 to recognize peace and protest war.

Anna Jarvis, who actually had no children of her own, campaigned for mother’s day in remembrance of her own mother, Ann Jarvis, who spent years working to provide resources for poor mothers in West Virginia.

Flowers are the biggest winners for this day and carnations quickly became the symbol of Mother’s Day. Usually a whopping 67% of people plan to purchase flowers this year for their ‘mom’.

According to the National Restaurant Association, in 2018 about 87 million adults made plans to go to a restaurant for honoring their ‘mom’.

84 percent of Canadians think that being a mother is one of the hardest jobs there is, and 64 percent of Canadians consider ‘Moms’ to be one of their ‘heroes’.

Canadians spends $84 on the Mother’s, making it the most shopped day only after Christmas. Sons spend a bit more $105 than daughters $62, with residents of Ontario tend to budget the most $94 with residents of Atlantic Canada the least $70!

9.8 million — the total number of mothers in Canada

(including biological, adoptive and stepmothers) in 2011

• 444,700 — the number of stay-at-home mothers with at least one child under 16 in 2016.
• 467,700 — the number of stay-at-home mothers with at least one child under 16 in 2006.
• 577,900 — the number of stay-at-home mothers with at least one child under 16 in 1996.
• 826,800 — the number of stay-at-home mothers with at least one child under 16 in 1986.
• 1,465,700 — the number of stay-at-home mothers with at least one child under 16 in 1976

“With love from the luckiest son in the world.”

“A mother is your first friend, your best friend, your forever friend.”

“Mother’s love is peace.”

“Moms are the people who know us the best and love us the most.”

“Mother’s love is the most forgiving.”

“When you look into your mother’s eye, you know that is the purest love you can find on this earth.”

“Happiness is seeing your mother smile.”

“No matter how much I say I love you, I always love you more than that.”

You can be trendy and give mom a game or puzzle.

Chocolates are always welcome accompanied with a bouquet of flowers.

Giving a brunch is an excellent idea, but tea time in Canada is better.

Give mom a unique gift – she just might want an iPad or an Alexa from Apple.

Can’t figure out what gift to give mom – try giving a certificate to her favorite place she eats or her favorite shopping place.

If mom has everything, try giving an orchid and chocolate truffles, a silk scarf or a soft leather tote bag.