One of the most popular, commercially successful, cherished, and sentimental holidays of the year is Mother’s Day, a day specifically set aside to honor, celebrate, thank, and remember mothers. Everyone loves their mother and although mothers should be celebrated each and every day of the year, Mother’s Day is an extra special day when children can express their love and appreciation for their mom.
Traditionally, mothers receive a Mother’s Day card, gifts, flowers, lavishes of love and praise, and acts of kindness—particularly a day away from their regular maternal duties and other special gifts and surprises, such as getting to sleep in and breakfast in bed. There are literally thousands of ways to make Mother’s Day a truly special occasion.
Mother’s Day celebrates all mothers—mothers expecting their first child, mothers of young children, mothers of older children, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, mothers with adopted children, mothers who gave up their children for adoption, foster mothers, mothers who have no children of their own, but are like mother figures, and more.
Although Mother’s Day is always celebrated on the second Sunday in May in North America, it is also celebrated throughout the world involving many different traditions, and on different dates and times of the year.
Churches tend to make Mother’s Day a significant part of their service, if not the entire focal point, as Mother’s Day in North America always falls on a Sunday. In Catholic churches, Mary, the mother of Jesus, is particularly celebrated and honored at this time, usually during the fourth Sunday of Lent.
The amount of mail being sent and received around this time of year, as a result of Mother’s Day in the U.S., can be quite astronomical. In addition, most phone networks in North America are tied up and busiest on Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day in America is also the top holiday of the year for purchasing flowers—surpassing even Valentine’s Day. In fact, most flower vendors take advantage of this by hiking up their prices on or around Mother’s Day. Further, Mother’s Day is also the one day of the year with the most patrons in restaurants throughout North America.