Friday, May 9, 2008

In Honor of Mother's Day



History of Mother’s Day in the USA

History of Mother’s Day in USA is not even hundred years old. It is due to the hard work and protracted struggle of a loving daughter Ms Anna Jarvis that Mothers Day was declared a national holiday by the then President of USA, President Woodrow Wilson. President Wilson designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day by signing a Joint Resolution on May 8, 1914. Founder of Mothers Day, Anna Jarvis is also known as the Mother of Mothers Day. However, it may be noted that the idea of official celebration of Mothers Day was first given by a writer - poet, Julia Ward Howe, in 1872. Julia is also noted for writing words of the famous Civil War song, "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and Mothers Day Proclamation, written in Boston in 1870.

Mother's Day Quotes

If women didn't exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning.

Men are what their mothers made them.

We never know the love of the parent until we become parents ourselves.

The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom.

The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.

That best academy, a mother's knee.

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.

No matter how old a mother is, she watches her middle-aged children for signs of improvement.

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his.

Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love.

Mother - that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries.

There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it.

No gift to your mother can ever equal her gift to you – life.

If nature had arranged that husbands and wives should have children alternatively, there would never be more than three in a family.

A mother understands what a child did not say.

Trivia about Mothers

There are 84 million mothers in the U.S

The odds of a woman delivering twins is 1-in-33. Her odds of having triplets is approximately 1-in-539.

August is the most popular month in which to have a baby.

Tuesday is the most popular day of the week in which to have a baby.

Kentucky has the highest percentage of women who are mothers at 67%. The national average is 57%.

About 4 million women will have babies this year.

The median age of a woman giving birth for the first time in the U.S. is 24.8.

The average woman in 17th-century America gave birth to 13 children.

Daughters keep in closer contact with their mothers than do sons.

There are more phone calls made on Mother's Day than on any other day of the year.

While nearly 80 percent of Americans will buy a card for mom this year, 83 percent of the cards will be purchased by daughters.

Mother's Day is the third-largest card-sending holiday.

In the vast majority of the world's languages, the word for "mother" begins with the letter M.

Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants.


Free Printable Blank Coupons for Mom




Mother's Day Recipe
Banana Pecan Pacakes
Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 medium bananas, mashed
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted (see below)
additional vegetable oil for cooking
maple syrup for topping

Cooking Instructions
1. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and baking powder.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs and 1/4 cup vegetable oil.
3. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture, mixing just until the flour disappears (a few lumps are fine — do not overbeat the batter). Stir in the mashed bananas and the pecans.
4. Lightly oil a skillet or griddle and place it over medium heat. Spoon in the batter — about 1/4 cup for each pancake — and cook until browned on both sides and no longer gooey in the middle, flipping once. If you find the pancakes are still uncooked inside when the outsides are browned, lower the heat in the pan so that they cook more slowly.

Toasting pecans:
Sprinkle the nuts onto a baking sheet and bake at 350o F for 8 to 10 minutes, or just until they are lightly browned. Stir once or twice during baking time.
Servings: 15 to 18 4-inch pancakes

In 1907, Miss Anna Jarvis selected the pink carnations as the symbol for Mother's Day.

Later, white carnations, with their sweet fragrance, came to be regarded as the flowers meant for those who have missed their mothers. Missed, either because of death, or, because of staying at a distance.

And it was the red carnations which in course of time became the symbol while wishing a living mother love. Perhaps, red, the color of blood and heart, was thought to be more suited to represent life and love.


Wishing all of you a very Happy Mother's Day!!!

Until next time...

4 comments:

mainely stitching said...

What a fascinating and informative post! Thanks for all the trivia - it made for very interesting reading. Although, unless my memory is deceiving me, which it does on a regular basis, the carnation was a symbol of maternal love in cross stitch sampler LONG before 1907.

Happy Mother's Day! :D

jane said...

Happy Mother's Day to you too!

You're right about my Mom - I can only hope that I've inherited some of those 'young looking' genes!

Julie said...

Thank You and I hope your mother's day was lovely too!

Michele said...

what a fun and informative post! I really enjoyed it :)

Hope you had a lovely Mother's Day Marie :)