Celebrating Mother’s Day In The USA – Any Differences?

In the United States, Mother’s Day is a yearly holiday observed on the second Sunday in May. Mother’s Day honors moms as well as parenthood, maternal relationships, and their positive influences on society and families in general. It was created by Anna Jarvis, and on May 10, 1908, a worship service was held at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, to commemorate the first Mother’s Day.

Popular customs include exchanging holiday cards and presents, attending church frequently in conjunction with the delivery of carnations, and hosting family dinners. In the United States, holidays commemorating family members like Father’s Day, Siblings Day, and Grandparents Day go hand in hand with Mother’s Day.

Many Mother’s Day celebrations around the world have diverse historical roots and customs, some of which have been affected by this more contemporary American practice. See Mother’s Day for further information on the worldwide holiday.

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Spelling

The Mother’s Day International Association was founded by Anna Jarvis in 1912, the same year she registered the terms “Second Sunday in May” and “Mother’s Day” as trademarks. According to her, “Mother’s” should “be a singular possessive, for each family to honor its own mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world.” Several presidents have proclaimed Mother’s Day using this spelling, including President Woodrow Wilson in 1914, the Congress in pertinent bills, and other presidents throughout history.

The Traditions In The USA

On Mother’s Day, customs including attending church, giving out carnations, and hosting family feasts are common. Mother’s Day is the third most popular holiday in the US for card mailing. Over 50% of American homes are thought to send greeting cards on this holiday, according to the greeting card business. Some people have criticized the event for being a Hallmark event because it has been excessively commercialized by businesses and advertisements.

Carnations

Since Anna Jarvis handed 500 during the first Mother’s Day celebration in 1908, carnations have come to symbolize the holiday. The practice of giving out carnations was eventually adopted by many religious services. This also marked the beginning of the Mother’s Day ritual of donning a carnation. Anna Jarvis, the originator, decided on the carnation because it was her mother’s preferred flower.

Florists came up with the idea of wearing a pink carnation if your mother was alive and a white one if she was deceased; this was ardently promoted until it made its way into the common observations at churches. This was partly due to the shortage of white carnations and partially due to the efforts to expand the sales of more types of flowers on Mother’s Day. Roses, a live blooming plant, flower leis, or a bouquet of various flowers are some other non-traditional floral possibilities.

Commercialization

American holidays were heavily commercialized early on. Only nine years had passed since the first recognized Mother’s Day, but it had already spread to the point that Anna Jarvis, who had spent her whole inheritance and the rest of her life battling what she viewed as a misuse of the holiday, had become a well-known opponent.

She criticized the custom of buying greeting cards, viewing it as evidence of being too indolent to compose a letter to a friend. In 1948, when protesting the commercialization of Mother’s Day, she was detained for obstructing the peace and eventually admitted that she “…wished she would have never started the day because it became so out of control …” Later that year, she passed away.

Mother’s Day is currently one of the most commercially successful American holidays. It has grown to be the most popular day of the year for dining out in American restaurants and contributes significantly to the annual revenue of the jewelry sector in the United States with personalized gifts like mother’s rings. In the United States, people spend over $2.6 billion on flowers, $1.53 billion on luxuries like spa treatments, and another $68 million on cards.

Some have argued that commercialization has made sure the holiday has survived. Others from the same period, such as Children’s Day, and Temperance Sunday, on the other hand, are no longer observed.

Sports

The Southern 500 auto race at Darlington Raceway took place on Mother’s Day weekend from 2005 to 2013. The Digital Ally 400 was held on Mother’s Day weekend at Kansas Speedway from 2014 to 2019 as part of the NASCAR Cup Series. The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 was supposed to be at Martinsville Speedway on Mother’s Day weekend’s Saturday in 2020, but the event was moved to June instead.

On Mother’s Day in 2021, the Goodyear 400 auto race at Darlington Raceway served as NASCAR’s throwback event. Additionally, since 2014, the IndyCar Grand Prix has been held on Mother’s Day weekend Saturday.

The Players Championship men’s golf event took place over Mother’s Day weekend from 2007 through 2018, with the exception of 2011 and 2014, when May 1 fell on a Sunday. In some situations, it was the weekend after. From 2004 to 2009, the Kingsmill Championship women’s golf event was held over Mother’s Day weekend.

On Mother’s Day weekend, professional athletes frequently dress in pink accessories and attire.