Mother’s Day 2020

Mother’s Day celebrates motherhood and is a day to make an extra-special effort to recognize and appreciate mothers’ roles in our lives. Often this day is extended to generations of mothers—grandmothers, great-grandmothers, stepmothers—as well as mother figures. 

In the United States, Mother’s Day is celebrated annually on the second Sunday in May. Though Mother’s Day is a national holiday widely observed in the U.S., it is not a federal or public holiday (when businesses are closed).

The History of Mother’s Day

A day to honor mothers has existed for as long as, well, there have been mothers!

Festivals honoring mothers in ancient timers were often tied to gods and goddesses. The Phrygians held a festival for Cybele, the Great Mother of the Gods. The Greeks and Romans also honored the mother figure of their gods. Even today, an important festival in India, Durga-puja, honors the goddess Durga.

During the Middle Ages, people would return to their home or “mother” church once a year during the middle of Lent. (Back then, children would often leave to work at the tender age of ten!) Historians theorize it was return to the “mother” church which led to the tradition of children getting the day off to visit their mother and family.

In 16th century England, this celebration became “Mothering Sunday.” Children, mainly daughters who had gone to work as domestic servants, would be given the day off on the fourth Sunday of Lent to return to their mothers and home parish. The eldest son or daughter would bring a “mothering cake,” which would be cut and shared by the entire family. Family reunions were the order of the day, with sons and daughters assuming all household duties and preparing a special dinner in honor of their mother. Sometime during the day the mother would attend special church services with her family.

Mothering Sunday was also known as Refreshment Sunday; the fasting rules were relaxed for that day. (Often, the gospel for the day was about Jesus feeding the crowded with loaves of bread.) The traditional cake, called a Simnel cake, is a fruit cake with two layers of almond paste. The cake was made with 11 balls of marzipan icing on top representing the 11 disciples. (Judas is not included.) Traditionally, sugar violets would also be added.

In the United States, three women were most instrumental in establishing the tradition of Mother’s Day: Ann Reeves Jarvis, Julia Ward Howe, and Ann’s daughter, Anna M. Jarvis. Learn more about these three great women. Read our article about the History of Mother’s Day in the United States. 

10 Ways to Celebrate Mom

In 2020, with COVID-19, many of us are rethinking how to give an extra recognition to moms — some of whom are in the high-risk age range. Let’s be frank:

• Most of us moms simply wish to connect with their children and spend time with family in any way possible—if not in person, with a phone call or a videochat. 
• If your mom is at home, give her a day off from any family chores, especially during this difficult time. Someone else can take full responsibility for making or serving the food, clearing and cleaning the dishes, doing the laundry. Volunteer!

That probably covers the big stuff, but here are 10 more ways to treat mom!

1. Offer yard and garden services.

• If you’re local, give mom a “gift cerficate” with your family’s yard and garden services. Help her lay down mulch. Put the “certificate” in a flower pot with spring-plant bulbs which you’ll plant for her!
• If you’re not local, how about a one-year subscription to The Old Farmer’s Almanac Garden Planner? Any gardener would love it! And it’s an instant present without shipping!

2. Decorate your mom’s door or front porch!
If you are local, you can have fun decorating your mom’s frost door with streamers, special signs, a wreath, and flowers! If you have kids, get them involved!  She’ll love the surprise.

Of course, flowers and plants are always a delight. If you are local, deliver to her porch in person. If you are not local, there is always delivery.

• A rose bush or a geranium is always welcome.
• Or, perhaps a dogwood or a flowering shrub for her garden would be appreciated.
• Buying cut flowers? See the symbolic meanings of common flowers to find flowers that have meaning to her! Or consider the monthly birth flowers for each child. 

3. Cook for mom or set up a virtual dinner date.

• Bake a cake! Traditionally, children in England always baked a cake for their Mother’s Day. If you like this tradition, here’s a truly delicious (and better than boxed) cake recipe: Chocolate Mousse Cake. We also love Nana’s Funny Cake.
• Drop off a casserole dinner for your mother. It’s great comfort food and you can put it all together to drop off on her porch! See 15 casserole recipe ideas.
• If your mother is living with you, how about breakfast or brunch? Here are 15 brunch recipes. You could even serve brunch for dinner! Why not? Try this delicious Frittata de Nonna. (Nonna means grandmother in Italian.) Add a salad and French bread for a dinner.
• Not local? How about setting up a dinner date on video to enjoy dinner together across the miles? You could even decide on a menu and cook together! Or, to make it simple, simply enjoy dessert and a drink together on Zoom, Skype, Facetime, or on the phone.

  

4. Give your mom an extra-long phone call or put on a virtual talent show!
Talk to her and make her laugh. Perhaps throw in some good “mom jokes.” All most moms want is time with you.
If you’re tech-savvy, schedule a free Zoom video chat so you can all see each other! Perhaps enjoy a glass of wine or a Mother’s Day toast together. 
If the young kids are involved, put on a talent show for grandma! It can be simple! 

5. Watch a movie or show together, side-by-side.
If you’re all at home in one place, have a movie tonight complete with theater treats. If you’re in separate locations, watch the same movie on your computer at the same time. Or, start a marathon of the Gilmore Girls whilst indulging in a glass of wine or cup of tea.

Did you know: Netflix also has a new way to watch together online. If you and your mom have a Netflix account and Chrome installed on her laptop or desktop, you can can watch a movie together! There is even a group chat function to comment live during the movie from wherever you are in the world. See Netflix Party.  

If not, do it the old fashioned way on the phone!

6. Get creative: Make mom a video or music playlist or a piece of art!

• Record a video from all your children. They can each say “Happy Mother’s Day” and why they appreciate her. You can always use iMovie to slice videos together on your phone.
• Or, make a tape or a music playlist. You could gather calming songs for bedtime such as the sound of the seas. Or, you could gather her very favorite songs from the era she loves most. (If your mom has an iPhone you can create a special iTunes playlist which will get emailed to her.)
• How about a special work of art for mom?  For example, paint the outside of a terracotta flower pot and fill with garden seeds. Or, make a beautiful photo frame with your family photo inside. You can find many many ideas on Pinterest and on the Web.

7. Take a stroll in the park with family

There’s plenty of room to spread out and enjoy nature! Spring is a wonderful time to visit a park. Or, if your mom is at home, what about packing a simple picnic? Here are great picnic food ideas. Just pack a picnic basket and bring a blanet—or, pack a cooler for a beautiful drive through the countryside.

8. Make a homemade gift

You don’t need to go out to a store and buy a gift. Mothers love gifts from the heart. Here are some fun crafts projects including gifts from the kitchen as well as DIY beauty and bath products for a home spa. 

• Make your own herbal vinegar
• Make your own fruit facial or scrub
• Make your own soap
• Make a lavender sachet
• Make rose Potpourri
• Make strawberry jam
• Make blueberry-rhubarb Jam
• Make a pretty gift jar

If you wish to buy a gift online, how about jewelry with her child’s birthstone?

For example, if your birthday is in August, give your mother peridot stud earrings. She’ll always think of her dear child when she wears them. See birthstones by month if you’re not sure of your birthstone or its meaning. Many small online businesses offer free shipping. Esty is also a great place to find unique jewelry and supports small businesses. 

9. Take a virtual tour of a museum together! 

Even if you are not together, the wonders of technology make so much possible today! More and more museums are opening up their “wall” to offer virual tours during this time! 

Set up a Mother’s Day date for you and your mom to visit The Louvre in Paris! Or how about the Vatican in Rome? Or, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City? Rather take in the marvels of nature? Check out this Nature Conservancy virtual field trip in Oklahoma!

10. Make your own card.

Don’t forget to send a card in advance! In our home, it’s a tradition to make a homemade card every year. Here’s one way to make Homemade Note Cards.

Wondering what to write in the card? How about sharing a funny story or happy memory of you and your mom? It will make her smile.

Here at the Almanac, we shared some of the happiest or funniest memories of our own mothers. We welcome your happy memories and stories, too! (Please share in the comments below.)

My mom sang a lot around the house and I thought she made up all of the songs. When I got older, I started to hear those same songs on the radio and was like “Hey …”
–Sarah P., Almanac editor

When I was a teenager my mother went back to college to get her Master of Library Science—studies that required she learn how to program computers. This put me in the unique position of being able to help my mother with her homework.
–Peter R., Almanac programmer

When I was young and all of my older siblings were in school, my Mom and I would have breakfast by the kitchen window and watch the hummingbirds. We loved watching the hummingbirds!
–Colleen Q., Almanac art director

We went to Ocean City, Maryland, every summer for a week on the beach. My mom went out on the beach every sunny day and sat there, under a big umbrella. She never got a tan (she had very fair skin and burned easily). No one can remember her ever going into the water. Not once.
–Tim C., Almanac editor

Some of my happiest memories are singing songs with Mom as she played the piano. She also encouraged me to play. Even though it was a struggle at times, I am glad to have had lessons, not only because I discovered how to play an instrument but also because I learned how to read music and how the notes worked together to make a melody.
–Heidi S., Almanac editor

My Mom and I have what we’ve always kind of called “our psychic connection” because it always seems like she will call me when I’ve been thinking of her a lot that day, or I’ll call her and she’ll say she’d been thinking of me. It seems like my daughter and I also have the “psychic connection”!
—Stacey K., Almanac staff

Before I started school, Mom took me to the library every week to take out 5 books, and return the 5 books from the prior week. We’d read together almost every day. 
–Colleen Q., Almanac art director

Together, let’s honor the women who raised us—making sacrifices for us every day and nurturing our families and greater communities.

Of course, if YOU are a mother, all of us The Old Farmer’s Almanac wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day!