10 Fun Facts About Mother's Day That Will Surprise You

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - Mother's Day is coming soon, and it is one of the most celebrated holidays in the world. Many people buy flowers, send cards, and take their moms out for a meal. But there are many interesting facts about Mother's Day that most people do not know.

Most of us think of Mother's Day as a warm and happy holiday. However, some facts about Mother's Day show that this day has a surprising and complicated history. It started in a very different way than what we see today.

If you want to learn something new before the holiday arrives, you are in the right place. Here are some fun facts about Mother's Day that will surprise you. Let's take a look at what makes this holiday so interesting.

Before Mother's Day became a holiday for giving gifts, it had a very different purpose. Social activist Julia Ward Howe introduced the idea in the United States after the Civil War. Her version of Mother's Day was a call for peace. She wanted mothers to come together and speak out against war, not to celebrate with flowers and cards.

The modern version of Mother's Day began on May 12, 1907. Anna Jarvis held a small ceremony to honor her late mother, who had spent her life organizing women's groups to promote health and friendship. That quiet memorial service became the starting point for what would later become an official national holiday in the United States in 1914.

Anna Jarvis worked hard to make Mother's Day an official holiday, but she later regretted it. As the day became more commercial, with companies selling more and more cards, flowers, and gifts, she was deeply unhappy. She spent the rest of her life trying to stop what the holiday had become and died in 1948 still fighting against its commercialization.

Carnations are the flower most closely associated with Mother's Day. Anna Jarvis chose them because they represent love, gratitude, and purity. She used different colors to carry different meanings. A red carnation showed that a person's mother was still alive, while a white carnation was worn to honor a mother who had passed away.

The idea of honoring mothers is not new at all. The ancient Greeks held a spring festival to celebrate Rhea, the goddess of motherhood and fertility, and mother of the gods. The Romans had a similar tradition for the goddess Cybele. These early festivals are considered some of the earliest known celebrations that honored the role of mothers in human life.

Flowers are by far the most popular Mother's Day gift in the United States. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans are expected to spend around $3.2 billion on flowers for the holiday in a single year. Mother's Day is the third biggest holiday for florists, coming after Valentine's Day and Christmas. About 74% of Americans plan to buy flowers for the occasion.

Have you ever wondered where the word "mum" or "mom" comes from? Many language experts believe it started with babies. The first sound most babies can make is "ma," and this sound appears in the word for mother in many languages around the world. French has "mère," German has "mutter," Italian has "madre," and Hindi has "maa."

A mother's natural scent plays an important role in how her baby feels safe and connected. Research shows that babies can recognize their mother's scent just days after birth. Studies also found that a mother's pheromones can increase brain-to-brain synchrony between a baby and the adults around them. This means a mother's scent may help babies feel safe even when she is not in the room.

France has one of the most unique ways of honoring motherhood. Starting in 1920, the French government created a medal to give to mothers who raised large families with care and dignity. Originally, bronze medals went to mothers of four or five children, silver for six or seven, and gold for eight or more. The award has been updated over time and still exists today.

Mother's Day is truly a global holiday. More than 100 countries around the world have their own way of celebrating mothers. While many countries observe it on the second Sunday of May, others choose different dates. The United Kingdom celebrates on the fourth Sunday of Lent, Mexico always celebrates on May 10, and Thailand marks the day in August on the birthday of Queen Sirikit.