You may remember delivering breakfast in bed to her. Making her a card in kindergarten using colorful crayons or smeary Cray-Pas. Or gathering daffodils to present her with a blazing yellow bouquet.
Today, perhaps you enjoy surprising her with a fragrant gift, spending the day together, or having dinner at a favorite restaurant. All of those are perfect ways to recognize Mother’s Day. And while celebrating all that your mother has done for you, you yourself may be receiving the honor, too.
Observed almost universally, from ancient Greece to modern China, Nepal to Nicaragua, Mother’s Day is a celebration of motherhood, one mother at a time. With origins in a holiday called Matronalia, a day to honor the ancient Roman goddess Juno, today’s Mother’s Day celebrations reflect their native cultures and history.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, “Mothering Sunday” most likely grew from a 16th-century festival during which children, scattered far to seek apprenticeships and work, were given a weekend’s freedom near the end of Lent to return home to their mother’s church—and, no doubt, her embrace.
In the United States, credit for Mother's Day goes to Anna Jarvis of Grafton, West Virginia. In 1908, Grafton promoted the idea of a holiday for moms to be held on the second Sunday of May; President Woodrow Wilson made it an official national holiday in 1914. Grafton also insisted that it be punctuated just so: Mother's (singular) Day—a day to honor one's mother.
Today, contemporary families are more complex than in Grafton's time. Stepmoms, mother-in-laws, grandmothers, godmothers, neighbors, teachers, sisters, friends—all the wonderful women in our lives can be recognized during Mother's Day.
Want to honor your mother—or womenfolk—with a delightfully fresh, wonderfully thoughtful gift this Mother's Day? Thymes collections make choosing a meaningful gift quick and easy. We're happy to send her your gift, complete with giftwrap, if you choose. For fragrance ideas, visit our Thymes Fragrance Studio. And give your mom the best from all of us at Thymes!