In honor of Mother’s Day, our little gift to you: some not-so-trivial trivia and priceless perspective on Moms (and the day that celebrates us)…
About Mother’s Day:
* Mother’s Day was born out of an effort by the 19 century pacifist and suffragist Julia Ward Howe to create a day of peace in the aftermath of the civil war. Her effort, directed toward the nation’s mothers, eventually evolved into a day of recognition for them.
* West Virginia was the first U.S. state to acknowledge Mother’s Day in 1910.
* Many other countries also celebrate Mother’s Day in May, including: Australia, Belgium, Italy, Japan, Turkey, Bahrain, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
On this day:
* Americans send 150 million mother’s day cards every year (Hallmark alone makes 1,500 different cards for the occasion).
* American moms receive 122.5 million phone calls on this day from their kids (however 3% call collect)
* More fresh flowers and plants are sold for Mother’s Day than any other day except Christmas.
* There’s something about Mama’s Boys: sons spend more on Mother’s Day than daughters– at retail, in flowers, and at restaurants
Some fun facts about mom herself:
* Some tribes, such as the Assam people of Africa, refer to themselves not as families, but as maharis, or motherhoods.
* In 17th century America, the average number of children a mother had was thirteen. Today, it’s two. (Though in Utah the average is three).
* The state with the greatest moms per capita is Kentucky.
And the good news:
* According to Gallup, 53% of Americans say that mom is the person who had the greatest influence on their growing up years.
* According to Harris Interactive, among teenage girls (that notoriously hard to please group) 68% admit to wanting to be like their mothers.
* Gallup further reports that 48% of moms say that their own mothers are their best friends.
source: The Amazing Mom Book by John MacIntyre
Happy Mother’s Day!… and enjoy this one parting quote:
“If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?”
– Milton Berle
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