Mother's Day (redirected from Mothers' Day)

Mother's Day

Second Sunday in May

The setting aside of a day each year to honor mothers was the suggestion of Anna M. Jarvis of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, whose own mother had died on May 9, 1906. She held a memorial service and asked those attending to wear white carnations—a gesture that soon became a tradition. By 1914 President Woodrow Wilson had proclaimed a national day in honor of mothers, and some people still wear carnations on the second Sunday in May—pink or red for mothers who are living and white for those who have died.
Sometimes Mother's Day is confused with Mothering Sunday, an English holiday that falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent. But Mother's Day is now observed in England as well, and the traditions associated with Mothering Sunday have been largely forgotten. A number of Protestant churches have designated this day as the Festival of the Christian Home .
See also Children's Day

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 353
AnnivHol-2000, p. 92
BkHolWrld-1986, May 14
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 133
DictDays-1988, p. 78
FolkAmerHol-1999, p. 229

Celebration days: May 8, 2011; May 13, 2012; May 12, 2013; May 11, 2014; May 10, 2015

Celebrated in: Panama, Republic of Georgia