Mother’s Day is celebrated every 2nd Sunday in May. This year it falls on May 14th, 2023. For many people, this day symbolizes the start of spring, new beginnings, and a time to be thankful for the women in their lives. With spring having sprung in most regions, giving a gift of flowers has become a popular tradition, among other suitable items. Celebrate the mothers in your life this season with 15% Off Items in our Mother's Day Gift Guide with code MOTHERSDAY23 at checkout (April 16-May 14). Whether you or your mother enjoy sprouting, vegetables, or flowers, there is something for you on this list. This holiday has been celebrated as Mother’s Day since 1914. However, the same sentiment has been celebrated around the world for centuries.
***Only items on the Mother’s Day Gift Guide page qualify for the 15% discount when the code MOTHERSDAY23 is used at checkout from April 16th to May 14th. You can find select items from the following categories in the Mother’s Day Gift Guide.
Mother’s Day officially became recognized as a holiday in the United States with efforts from Anna Jarvis. Throughout her life, Anna worked closely with mothers for several different purposes. She started Mothers’ Day Work Clubs to teach proper child care, organized Mothers’ Friendship Day to unite Union and Confederate soldiers, and organized the first Mother’s Day celebration (West Virginia 1908). This celebration was wildly popular, leading to her resolve for it to be added to the national holiday calendar because most American holidays were highly biased toward male achievements. With plenty of correspondence, newspaper promotion, and the support of local politicians, the unmarried and childless Jarvis successfully lobbied for Mother’s Day to be recognized nationally. On May 9, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation establishing Mother’s Day to be celebrated on the second Sunday of May each year.
Before Anna Jarvis reached this level of success, an abolitionist and suffragette by the name of Julia Ward Howe started this course of action in 1870. Howe wrote the “Mother’s Day Proclamation,” which asked mothers to promote world peace. She would later campaign for “Mother’s Peace Day” but did not reach the same success as Anna would. The themes of appreciating motherhood, peace, and rememberance can all be tied together with the tradition of wearing white carnations. Participate by creating a corsage, pin, or hairpiece with these beautiful flowers this year.
Tradition - Wear white carnations in memory of a mother figure
Many cultures throughout the world make it a point to celebrate and honor the influence of mothers at various times of the year. Celebrations include singing songs, feasting, presenting gifts and flowers to mothers and women, giving women a day off from their normal chores and jobs, and other festival traditions. For many cultures, this tradition has been focused on worshiping or honoring various goddesses, including Cybele (Great Mother of the Gods), Rhea, and Durga.
Cybele, aka Cybebe or Agdistis, was an “ancient Oriental and Greco-Roman deity.” Rather than being associated with fertility and reproduction, the Great Mother of the Gods was regarded as the giver of all life to gods, humans, and animals.
Rhea is a Greek goddess associated with fertility, the Earth, and is believed by some as the same person as the Great Mother of the Gods (Cybele). In Greek Religion, she is the wife of Cronus and the mother of Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus.
Durga is a Hindu “Goddess” known as Devi and Shakti. She is the collective energy of the greater and lesser gods and acts as a “menacing form to her enemies.” One of the greatest festivals of northeastern India (Durga Puja) is held in her honor.
We hope that you will spend time appreciating the role and impressions of the mothers and women in your life.
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