My own personal history of Mother's Day has quite a large gap in it.  As a kid, we did the usual things for my mom, gave her gifts, cooked breakfast or took her out.  But when she passed away (many years ago now), the second Sunday in May was pretty much just like any other.

Then I met my husband and started celebrating with him and my mother - in - law - to - be.  Soon after we were married, Mother's Day had a whole new meaning as I was actually a mom!  An entire day with no cooking, cleaning or changing diapers got me thinking, it's wonderful to celebrate moms, who's idea was this anyway?

So, here it is, the complete history of Mother's Day.  I know I will always think back to the women who made our special day possible - thank you!!

The History of Mother's Day
The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods.

During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

During this time many of England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church" - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.

In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Mass ever year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessmen, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful, by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

A Little Mother's Day Trivia:

· In the United States, there are about 82.5 million mothers. (source: US Census Bureau)

· about 96% of American consumers take part in some way in Mother's Day (source: Hallmark)

· Mother's Day is widely reported as the peak day of the year for long distance telephone calls

· Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for many restaurants

· Retailers report that Mother's Day is the second highest gift-giving holiday in the United States (Christmas is the highest).

· Most popular month for having babies in the US is August, and most popular weekday is Tuesday.

Find more Mother's Day facts at About.com.

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