Fun facts about Mother's Day

Holidays
Mother's Day
Rate this topic

Free. One surprising fact at a time, by email or push. No app needed.

Did you know? In the early 20th century, red carnations were worn to honor living mothers, while white carnations were worn to honor those who had passed away.

Fact 1 of 29

29 facts about Mother's Day

  1. 1
    In Ethiopia, Mother's Day is not fixed to a specific date but is celebrated as part of a three-day festival called Antrosht, which occurs at the end of the rainy season when families gather for a large feast and singing.
  2. 2
    Many people mistakenly assume the holiday was started by a greeting card company to sell more products, but it was actually started by a woman who wanted to honor her own mother's work as a community health activist.
  3. 3
    During the mid-17th century in England, Mothering Sunday was a day off for domestic servants, allowing them to visit their families and bake special simnel cakes.
  4. 4
    It has been estimated that approximately 152 million greeting cards are exchanged annually for Mother's Day, making it the third largest holiday for card sales after Christmas and Valentine's Day.
  5. 5
    In the United Kingdom, the holiday is historically known as Mothering Sunday and it originally had nothing to do with moms; it was a religious tradition where people returned to their mother church for a special service.
  6. 6
    Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for the restaurant industry, with more people going out to eat on this day than on any other, including Valentine's Day.
  7. 7
    The founder of the holiday, Anna Jarvis, became so disgusted by the commercialization of the day that she spent the later part of her life protesting against it and even campaigned to have it removed from the calendar.
  8. 8
    The day is so important that in some places, long-distance phone lines actually experience a higher volume of traffic than they do on Christmas Day.
  9. 9
    In Indonesia, Mother's Day is celebrated on December 22nd to mark the date of the first Indonesian Women's Congress in 1928.
  10. 10
    In the late 19th century, Julia Ward Howe attempted to establish a Mother's Peace Day, which focused on mothers uniting to prevent the horrors of war.
  11. 11
    People sometimes assume Mother's Day and Father's Day have similar origins, but Father's Day was met with much more public resistance and mockery when it was first proposed.
  12. 12
    In Bolivia, Mother's Day is celebrated on May 27th to commemorate the Battle of La Coronilla, where women fought for their independence.
  13. 13
    The spelling of the holiday is Mother's Day—singular possessive—because Anna Jarvis wanted it to be a day for each person to celebrate their own mother.
  14. 14
    There is a specific variety of rose named the Mother's Day Rose, which is a miniature plant known for its petite and charming blooms.
  15. 15
    More than 80 countries observe Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May, making it a synchronized global celebration of motherhood.
  16. 16
    The postal service reports a massive spike in volume around Mother's Day, making it one of the busiest times of the year for mail carriers.
  17. 17
    While we celebrate moms, in some countries like Serbia, children have to 'tie up' their mothers on Mother's Day and they only get released if they provide treats.
  18. 18
    The date of Mother's Day varies wildly across the globe, with some countries like Norway celebrating as early as February.
  19. 19
    Many children believe their moms have a secret 'mom eye' in the back of their heads, which is technically just high-level multitasking, but it feels like magic.
  20. 20
    In Ethiopia, mothers celebrate the end of the rainy season with a multi-day feast called Antrosht, where family members sing and dance together.
  21. 21
    The creator of Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis, was never a mother herself, making her dedication to the holiday a selfless act for all moms.
  22. 22
    If you struggle to think of a gift, remember that mothers receive over 120 million phone calls on Mother's Day alone.
  23. 23
    Some people think Mother's Day is always on the same date every year, but it actually moves because it is based on the second Sunday of May.
  24. 24
    The carnation is the official flower of Mother's Day, and legend says they were created from the tears of the Virgin Mary as she wept for Jesus on the cross.
  25. 25
    During the 17th century in England, Mothering Sunday was a day when domestic servants were given time off to return home and visit their families and their mother church.
  26. 26
    Many people incorrectly believe that Mother's Day was created by greeting card companies to sell more products, but it was actually started by a woman in West Virginia to honor her own mother's work in community health.
  27. 27
    Mother's Day is the single busiest day of the year for the restaurant industry, with more people going out to eat than on Valentine's Day or New Year's Eve.
  28. 28
    The founder of Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis, spent her later years campaigning to have the holiday removed from the calendar because she hated how commercialized it became.
Keep exploring

More in Holidays

Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Rate this topic
Holidays
Martin Luther King Jr. Day

In the early 1980s, the musician Stevie Wonder released a song called Happy Birthday to help campaign for the holiday, and it became an anthem that helped convince lawmakers to finally sign the bill into law.

Memorial Day
Rate this topic
Holidays
Memorial Day

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because people would decorate the graves of fallen soldiers with fresh spring flowers.

Mistletoe
Rate this topic
Holidays
Mistletoe

Mistletoe is actually a partial parasite that steals water and minerals from trees, meaning the plant we kiss under is technically a bit of a freeloader.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Rate this topic
Holidays
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

The film was written by John Hughes and is based on his own short story Christmas '59, which was published in National Lampoon magazine.

New Year's Eve
Rate this topic
Holidays
New Year's Eve

In ancient Babylon, the new year began with the first new moon after the spring equinox, meaning their celebrations were held in late March rather than December.

New Year's Resolutions
Rate this topic
Holidays
New Year's Resolutions

When people make resolutions, they often experience the false hope syndrome, where their expectations for change are unrealistically high and not aligned with their past behavior, leading to an inevitable cycle of disappointment.