Did you know that more phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year? Have you heard that Mother’s Day is also the day with the highest church attendance after Christmas Eve and Easter?
The early celebrations for mothers did not include gift giving but instead embraced spending time with your mother or honoring her memory if she has passed. The custom of Mother’s Day had nearly died out by the 19thcentury, but World War II American servicemen brought the custom of setting aside a Sunday holiday for mothers back to popularity.
Today Mother’s Day is celebrated in the United States on the second Sunday in May. It is a day to honor your mother and thank her for her love and support. Traditions include gifting flowers, greeting cards, candy, and food to mothers and grandmothers on this day. Some people pen poems. Little hands craft homemade gifts. Those who can cook serve up their best dishes all for the mothers in their lives.
(June Cleaver with Wally & Beaver on Leave It to Beaver)
From my younger days, I recall attempting to make a special cake for my mother on Mother’s Day. She had given my sister and me our own cook book Betty Crocker’s Cook Book for Boys and Girls. (It was written for us baby boomers circa 1957.) That cookbook inspired many well-intentioned baking attempts for my mom during my childhood. No matter how lumpy or burned my cakes turned out, Mom always praised me for my effort.
(From Wiley Publishing Inc. 1957)
Later, as an adult, when I had my own home, I would search for Southern Living magazine for their annual article on hosting a Mother’s Day brunch. The article always had a menu with recipes, complete with pictures of each completed dish. I would invite my mother and sister with her family over for the gourmet meal to celebrate the special day. Most years it turned out to be a bit more than I could cook. Often the meal didn’t quite look like the lovely pictures in the magazine. But, the all the mothers in attendance seemed to enjoy the day regardless and, of course, not having to cook or wash dishes themselves!
(Southern Living Magazine Time Inc. Lifestyle Group)
How do you celebrate Mother’s Day? What foods do you prepare? Or if you aren’t a cook, where do you treat your mother to a nice meal on her special day? Which tasty candies or baked treats do you gift to your mother? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook page!
