I’M JUST CURIOUS: Holidays of May

by Debbie Walker

I have to admit that most of this column has come from a local paper here in Florida. It’s the Senior Voice of Citrus County. The most recent one was full of May days and celebrations. We’ll start out with Mother’s Day. (Miss you Mom)

Mother’s Day was made official on May 9, 1914. President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation declaring Mother’s Day an official holiday, but the idea began in 1908 when Anna Jarvis started Mother’s Day to honor her mom.

Phone calling has been the centerpiece of Mother’s Day for years, 122 million phones, with families spread out around the world.

Greeting cards are the top of the list of Mother’s Day gifts, followed by flowers, special outings, gift cards, clothing, and jewelry.

The carnation is the official flower of Mother’s Day. The tradition began when Anna Jarvis sent hundreds of carnations to her West Virginia home church to honor mothers in that congregation. That single gesture landed the carnation in the top spot as official flower of Mother’s Day. Today the colors of the frilly blooms have specific meanings – white to honor deceased mothers and red to celebrate the living.

Americans will spend approximately $31 billion this Mother’s Day. By any measure that would be a lot of flowers, dining, greeting cards and macaroni necklaces.

It is well known that Easter and Christmas yield large church attendance. Something about mom makes people want to show reverence and focus on faith and family. Many Americans will start their Mother’s Day celebration by attending church with their moms, making it the third most attended church service.

What do mom’s want most? To quote my mom with this question, her answer would be “time”. According to a survey by RetailMeNot, what mom’s want most for Mother’s Day is to dine out with family. Many moms site reasons like not wanting to cook or wanting to get out of the house. Perhaps that’s why it’s the biggest restaurant day of the year.

I don’t want to upstage Mother’s Day, but I thought I would share some Other Things to Celebrate in May, also from the Senior Voices of Citrus County.

May 1 – National Chocolate Parfait Day, School Principals’ Day.

May 2 – International Harry Potter Day, National Brothers and Sisters Day, National Play Your Ukulele Day.

May 3 – National Chocolate Custard Day, National Textile Day.

May 4 – International Firefighters Day, National Orange Juice Day, Star Wars Day.

May 5 – Cinco de Mayo, National Astronaut Day, National Hoagie Day.

May 6 – National Scrapbooking Day.

May 7 – Pilates Day, World Laughter Day.

May 8 – National Coconut Cream Pie Day, National Give Someone a Cupcake.

May 9 – National Lost Sock Memorial Day (Who knew there was a holiday for Orphaned Socks!).

May 10 – National Clean Your Room Day, National Golf Day

May 13 – International Hummus Day, National Apple Pie Day, National Miniature Golf Day.

May 14 ­­– Mother’s Day.

Hopefully I will remember to finish this next week when I have more words.

I’m just curious how you celebrate mom rather she is here or passed. Contact me with any comments or questions, or anything you want to share, at DebbieWalker@townline.org. Have a wonderful week.