Unless you’ve been out of touch in the last week, you know that Mother’s Day is rapidly approaching. Sunday, May 11 marks the 111^th year we’ve honored our mothers since Woodrow Wilson decreed it as a national holiday in 1914.

Of course, the practice of respecting our mothers goes back much further. The Bible records as one of the Ten Commandments to “honor your father and mother, the first commandment with a promise.” For the Hebrew people, that meant lifelong devotion as each family formed their own community, and the only time one left home was to marry and join your new husband’s beth ’ab, or family compound.

For the Romans and the Greeks, they honored mothers often as symbols of their fertility gods. Rhea, in particular, was called the “Mother of Gods” and was celebrated in the spring. The New Testament teaches us that Jesus honored his mother, and as the Catholic church grew out of the early Christians, Mary was given particular honor.

Sometime around the 1600s, churches in England and their colonies started celebrating what would become known as Mothering Sunday. The fourth Sunday of Lent, or Laetare Sunday, everyone would return to the church where they were baptized. Because that was often close to their childhood home, most would also visit their mothers, giving the date double meaning.

American Roots

The earliest known American Mother's Day celebration occurred in 1872 in Boston. After the Franco-Prussian War, Julia Ward Howe, a woman’s rights activist and pacifist who also wrote “the Battle Hymn of the Republic,” pushed for a special day to honor mothers and world peace. The tradition continued in New England for a few years but eventually petered out.

Years later, another woman dedicated to activism, this time in West Virginia, was inspired to honor her mother who had driven change in sanitation and health conditions in the South. Anna Jarvis got the local Methodist church involved and in 1908 celebrated the first Mother’s Day with speeches, flowers, and handmade cards. Jarvis pioneered the wearing of a white carnation for the occasion.

It was her efforts that led to President Wilson making the national proclamation. Nowadays, Mother’s Day is extended to grandmothers, aunts, and other maternal figures.

While many flowers will be given and received on Mother’s Day, carnations are still the traditional bloom of the holiday. Jarvis’ white carnation now signifies the remembering of a deceased mother, while red or pink honor mothers still living.

Unfortunately, in her later years, Anna Jarvis regretted her efforts to make Mother’s Day a national sensation as the day became more and more commercialized. Last year $33 billion was spent on mothers in the United States, or just over $250 on average per mom.

Global Phenomenon

While we still think of Mother’s Day as an American holiday, it is now celebrated in many countries and cultures.

Mexico began celebrating el Día de las Madres in 1922. Often instead of, or in addition to, breakfast in bed, children will serenade their mothers in the morning to wake them up. Japan first celebrated Mother’s Day on March 8, 1931, the birthday of Empress Kojun. It was seen as too western and suspended during World War II, but in 1949 reemerged as the second Sunday in May. Egg dishes are popular to share.

They celebrate a week earlier in Spain, Hungary, Portugal, and South Africa on the first Sunday of May. In Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, and Morocco, the holiday falls on March 21, coinciding with the beginning of spring. In Albania, Romania, Serbia, and Bulgaria, Mother’s Day is tied to International Women's Day, March 8.

The biggest outlier is Ethiopia. Mother’s Day in Ethiopia takes place during a three-day celebration called Antrosht. It’s held sometime between October and November – whenever the rainy season ends.

As you may know, our rainy season on the Gulf Coast of Florida is about to start. That brings out some of the mothers we’d rather not honor – mosquitoes. Thankfully, our exclusive Mosquito Protection Program stops the biting without hurting the biter.

Hungry, pregnant mosquitoes are transformed into vegans who feed on nectar – and pass that trait on to their offspring. You can throw a picnic in the backyard to celebrate mom and not worry at all. For more details, stop by our office or give us a call!