Mother's Day (United States)

Mother's Day
Mother's Day
	Examples of handmade Mother's Day gifts
Observed by	United States
Type	Commercial, cultural, religious
Observances	Holiday card and gift giving, churchgoing accompanied by the distribution of carnations, and family dinners
Begins	2nd Sunday of May
Date	Second Sunday in May
2023 date	May 14
2024 date	May 12
2025 date	May 11
2026 date	May 10
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Father's Day

Mother's Day is an annual holiday celebrated in the United States on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds in general, as well as their positive contributions to their families and society. It was established by Anna Jarvis, with the first Mother's Day celebrated through a service of worship at St. Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, on May 10, 1908.^[2] Popular observances include holiday card and gift giving, churchgoing often accompanied by the distribution of carnations, and family dinners.^[1] In the United States, Mother's Day complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Father's Day, Siblings Day and Grandparents Day.

Internationally, many Mother's Day celebrations have different origins and traditions, some also influenced by this more recent American tradition. For the international celebration, see Mother's Day.

History

First attempts to establish a holiday

During the 19th century, women's peace groups in the United States tried establishing holidays and regular activities in favor of peace and against war. A common early activity was the meeting of groups of mothers whose sons had fought or died on opposite sides of the American Civil War.^[3]

In 1868, Ann Jarvis, Anna Jarvis's mother, organized a committee to establish a "Mother's Friendship Day", the purpose of which was "to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War." Ann Jarvis, who had previously organized Mother's Day Work Clubs to improve sanitation and health for both Union and Confederate encampments undergoing a typhoid outbreak, wanted to expand these into an annual memorial for mothers, but she died in 1905 before the annual celebration was established.^[4]^[5] Her daughter, who became almost obsessed with her, would continue her mother's efforts.

There were several limited observances in the 1870s and the 1880s. Still, none achieved resonance beyond the local level.^[4] At the time, Protestant schools in the United States already held many celebrations and observations such as Children's Day, Temperance Sunday, Roll Call Day, Decision Day, Missionary Day and others.^[6] In New York City, Julia Ward Howe led a "Mother's Day for Peace" anti-war observance on June 2, 1872,^[4]^[6]^[7] which was accompanied by an "Appeal to womanhood throughout the world" (nowadays known as Mother's Day Proclamation). The observance continued in Boston for about ten years under Howe's sponsorship, then died out.^[8] In these celebrations, mothers all around the world would work towards world peace.^[6]

Several years later, a Mother's Day observance on May 13, 1877, was held in Albion, Michigan over a dispute related to the temperance movement.^[9] According to local legend, Albion pioneer Juliet Calhoun Blakeley stepped up to complete the sermon of the Rev. Myron Daughterty who was distraught because an anti-temperance group had forced his son and two other temperance advocates at gunpoint to spend the night in a saloon and become publicly drunk. From the pulpit, Blakeley called on other mothers to join her. Blakeley's two sons, both traveling salesmen, were so moved that they vowed to return each year to pay tribute to her and embarked on a campaign to urge their business contacts to do likewise. At their urging, in the early 1880s, the Methodist Episcopal Church in Albion set aside the second Sunday in May to recognize the special contributions of mothers.^{[citation needed]}

Frank E. Hering, alumnus and administrator at the University of Notre Dame and President of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, made a plea for "setting aside one day in the year as a nationwide memorial to the memories of Mothers and motherhood" in 1904.^[10]^[11] After observing a class of Notre Dame students sending home penny postcards to their mothers, Hering went on to be a vocal advocate for a national Mother's Day for the next decade.^[10] As Hering stated in a 1941 issue of Scholastic: "Throughout history the great men of the world have given their credit for their achievements to their mothers. [The] Holy Church recognizes this, as does Notre Dame especially, and Our Lady who watches over our great institution."^[10]

Establishment of holiday

In its present form, Mother's Day was established by Anna Jarvis with the help of Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker following the death of her mother, Ann Jarvis, on May 9, 1905. Jarvis never mentioned Howe or Mothering Sunday, and she never mentioned any connection to the Protestant school celebrations, always claiming that the creation of Mother's Day was hers alone.^[12]

A small service was held on May 12, 1907, in the Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton, West Virginia, where Anna's mother had been teaching Sunday school.^[4] The first "official" service of worship was on May 10, 1908, in the same church, accompanied by a larger ceremony in the Wanamaker Auditorium in the Wanamaker's store in Philadelphia.^[4] The next year the day was reported to be widely celebrated in New York.^[13]

Jarvis then campaigned to establish Mother's Day first as a U.S. national holiday and then later as an international holiday.^[14] The holiday was declared officially by the state of West Virginia in 1910, and the rest of the states followed quickly.^[4]

On May 10, 1913, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution calling on all federal government officials (from the president down) to wear a white carnation the following day in observance of Mother's Day.^[15] On May 8, 1914, the U.S. Congress passed a law designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day and requesting a proclamation. The next day, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring the first national Mother's Day^[16]^[17] as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.^[16] In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved a stamp commemorating the holiday.^[18]

In May 2008, the House of Representatives voted twice on a resolution commemorating Mother's Day,^[19]^[20] the first one being passed without a dissenting vote (21 members not voting).^[19] The Saint Andrews Methodist Church, where the first celebration was held, is now the International Mother's Day Shrine and is a National Historic Landmark.^[21]

Spelling

In 1912 Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrases "Second Sunday in May" and "Mother's Day", and created the Mother's Day International Association.^[22] She specifically noted that "Mother's" should "be a singular possessive, for each family to honor its own mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world."^[23] This is also the spelling used by President Woodrow Wilson in his 1914 presidential proclamation, by the Congress in relevant bills,^[19]^[20] and by various presidents in their proclamations concerning Mother's Day.^[24]

Traditions

Traditions on Mother's Day include churchgoing, the distribution of carnations, and family dinners.^[1] Mother's Day is the third largest holiday in the United States for sending cards. According to the greeting card industry, it is estimated that more than 50 percent of American households send greeting cards on this holiday. The holiday has been heavily commercialized by advertisers and retailers, and has been criticized by some as a Hallmark Holiday.^[25]^[26]

Carnations

Carnations have come to represent Mother's Day since Anna Jarvis delivered 500 at the first celebration in 1908.^[4]^[17]^[21] Many religious services held later adopted the custom of giving away carnations.^[4] This also started the custom of wearing a carnation on Mother's Day. The founder, Anna Jarvis, chose the carnation because it was her mother's favorite flower.^[27] In part due to the shortage of white carnations, and in part due to the efforts to expand the sales of more types of flowers in Mother's Day, florists invented the idea of wearing a pink carnation if your mother was living, or a white one if she was dead; this was tirelessly promoted until it made its way into the popular observations at churches.^[28] Other less traditional flower options may include roses, a live blooming plant, flower leis, or a bouquet of a variety of different flowers.

Commercialization

The commercialization of U.S. holidays began very early. Only nine years after the first official Mother's Day, it had become so rampant that Anna Jarvis herself became a prominent opponent of what the holiday had become,^[23]^[29] spending all her inheritance and the rest of her life fighting what she saw as an abuse of the celebration.^[23] She decried the practice of purchasing greeting cards, which she saw as a sign of being too lazy to write a personal letter. She was arrested in 1948 for disturbing the peace while protesting against the commercialization of Mother's Day, and she finally said that she "...wished she would have never started the day because it became so out of control ..."^[29] She died later that year.

Mother's Day is now one of the most commercially successful American occasions, having become the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States^[30] and generating a significant portion of the U.S. jewelry industry's annual revenue, from custom gifts like mother's rings.^[31] Americans spend approximately $2.6 billion on flowers, $1.53 billion on pampering gifts—like spa treatments—and another $68 million on greeting cards.^[32]

It has been suggested that commercialization has ensured that the holiday has continued. In contrast, other holidays from the same time, such as Children's Day and Temperance Sunday,^[33] are no longer celebrated.^[34]

Sports

From 2005 to 2013, the Southern 500 auto race at Darlington Raceway was held on Saturday of Mother's Day weekend. From 2014 to 2019, the NASCAR Cup Series hosted the Digital Ally 400 at Kansas Speedway on Saturday of Mother's Day weekend. In 2020, the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway was scheduled to take place on the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend (although that race was postponed until June). In 2021, the Goodyear 400 auto race at Darlington Raceway occurred on Mother's Day and served as NASCAR's throwback race. Also, the IndyCar Grand Prix has been held on Saturday of Mother's Day weekend since 2014.

From 2007–2018, The Players Championship men's golf tournament was held on Mother's Day weekend, except in 2011 and 2014 when May 1 fell on a Sunday. In those cases, it was held the following weekend. Previously, the Kingsmill Championship women's golf tournament was played on Mother's Day weekend from 2004 to 2009.

Professional sports players often wear pink clothing accessories on Mother's Day weekend.

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c J. Ellsworth Kalas (October 19, 2009). Preaching the Calendar: Celebrating Holidays and Holy Days. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664227142. Church attendance on this day is likely to be third only to Christmas Eve and Easter. Some worshipers still celebrate with carnations, colored if the mother is living and white if she is deceased.
^ O'Reilly, Andrea (April 6, 2010). Encyclopedia of Motherhood. Sage Publications (CA). p. 602. ISBN 978-1-4522-6629-9. She organized the first official Mother's Day service at Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, on the morning of May 10, 1908. That same afternoon, 15,000 people attended a Mother's Day service at the Wanamaker Store Auditorium in Philadelphia, which she also organized. Jarvis chose the second Sunday in May for Mother's Day to mark the anniversary of her mother's death and selected her mother's favorite flower, the white carnation, as the day's official emblem.
^ O'Reilly, Andrea (2010). Encyclopedia of Motherhood. Sage Publications. p. 972. ISBN 978-1452266299.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Virginia Bernhard (2002). "Mother's Day". In Joseph M. Hawes, Elizabeth F. Shores (ed.). The family in America: an encyclopedia (3, illustrated ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 714. ISBN 978-1-57607-232-5.
^ Larossa, 1997 p. 172
^ ^a ^b ^c Leigh, p. 252
^ "The First Anniversary of 'Mother's Day'", The New York Times, June 3, 1874, p. 8: "'Mother's Day,' which was inaugurated in this city on the 2nd of June, 1872, by Mrs. Julia Ward Howards [sic], was celebrated last night at Plimpton Hall by a mother's peace meeting..."
^ Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day for Peace Archived June 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, about.com
^ Mother's Day from "Albion's Historical Markers", maintained by an Albion, Michigan business
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Father of Mother's Day | Notre Dame Archives News & Notes". www.archives.nd.edu. May 6, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
^ "Fraternal Order of Eagles: The History of Mother's Day". Archived from the original on April 15, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2008.
^ Leigh, p. 253
^ "They organize no crusade in the interests of so-called 'women's rights'...", NY Times, May 10, 1909
^ "The promoters of White Carnation Day have expressed their intention to make the observance international in character...", Poverty Bay Herald, June 1, 1909
^ Express (Washington, D.C.), May 10, 2013, p. 30.
^ ^a ^b Rice, Susan Tracey and Robert Haven Schauffler (1915). Mother's day: its history, origin, celebration, spirit, and significance as related in prose and verse. Moffat, Yard & company. pp. 3–5. in 1914 Congress passed a law, which Wilson signed on May 8, 1914, 'designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day', and authorizing and requesting that Wilson issue a proclamation 'calling upon the government officials to display the United States flag on all buildings, and the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.'
^ ^a ^b Today in History: May 9 Library of Congress
^ William H. Young, Nancy K. Young (2007), The Great Depression in America: A Cultural Encyclopedia (illustrated ed.), Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 520, ISBN 978-0-313-33520-4
^ ^a ^b ^c House Vote #274 (May 7, 2008) H. Res. 1113: Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day (Vote On Passage)
^ ^a ^b House Vote #275 (May 7, 2008) Table Motion to Reconsider: H RES 1113 Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day
^ ^a ^b Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, National Historic Landmarks program, National Park Service, archived from the original on March 14, 2007, retrieved March 4, 2010
^ Compare footnote 51 in LaRossa, Ralph (1997). The Modernization of Fatherhood: A Social and Political History. University of Chicago Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-0226469041. Retrieved April 28, 2016. Technically, at least, Mother's Day was 'owned' by Jarvis. She managed not only to incorporate the Mother's Day International Association, but also to register 'Second Sunday in May, Anna Jarvis, Founder,' as the organization's trademark.
^ ^a ^b ^c Louisa Taylor, Canwest News Service (11 May 2008). "Mother's Day creator likely 'spinning in her grave'". Vancouver Sun. Canada. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2008.
^
Presidential proclamations from The American Presidency Project:
- 71 – Proclamation 2083 – Mother's Day Proclamation, Franklin D. Roosevelt, 3 May 1934.
- Proclamation 3535 Mother's Day, 1963 John F. Kennedy, 26 April 1963.
- Proclamation 3583 – Mother's Day, 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson, 23 April 1964
- Proclamation 4437 – Mother's Day, 1976, Gerald Ford, 5 May 1976.
- Proclamation 5801 – Mother's Day, 1988 Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Ronald Reagan, 26 April 1988.
- Proclamation 6133 – Mother's Day, 1990, George Bush, 10 May 1990
- Proclamation 6559 – Mother's Day, 1993, Bill Clinton, 7 May 1993.
- Proclamation 8253 – Mother's Day, 2008, George W. Bush, 8 May 2008.
^ Brian Handwerk (May 11, 2012). "Mother's Day's Dark History". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
^ Marc Powers (May 11, 1996). "Mother's Day only a Hallmark holiday". Southeast Missourian. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
^ Leigh, 1997, p. 260
^ Leigh, 1997, p. 274
^ ^a ^b "Mother's Day reaches 100th anniversary, The woman who lobbied for this day would berate you for buying a card". NBC News. Associated Press. May 11, 2008. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
^
Press releases:
- "More Than Six Out of 10 Americans Will Have Their Mother's Day Meals at Restaurants, New National Restaurant Association Research Reveals". National Restaurant Association. May 4, 2006. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
- "Mother's Day Dining Fact Sheet". National Restaurant Association. April 28, 2006. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
^ Barnett Helzberg (2003). John Wiley and Sons (ed.). What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett. John Wiley & Sons. p. 80. ISBN 0-471-44539-8.
^ "Recession or not: Mom comes 1st (phillyBurbs.com) | Local Business". Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
^ The New York Times, November 17, 1888, Temperance Sunday's programme
^ Leigh, p. 256 "... it might even have gradually withered away like other Protestant days of the early twentieth century such as Children's Day or Temperance Sunday."

General and cited references

Larossa, Ralph (1997). The Modernization of Fatherhood: A Social and Political History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 90, 170–192. ISBN 0-226-46904-2. OCLC 34850048.
Schmidt, Eric Leigh (1995). Consumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. pp. 256–275. ISBN 0-691-01721-2. OCLC 32272045.

External links

History of formation and celebration of Mother's Day

[Churchgoing-1] J. Ellsworth Kalas (October 19, 2009). Preaching the Calendar: Celebrating Holidays and Holy Days. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9780664227142. Church attendance on this day is likely to be third only to Christmas Eve and Easter. Some worshipers still celebrate with carnations, colored if the mother is living and white if she is deceased.

[O'Reilly2010-2] O'Reilly, Andrea (April 6, 2010). Encyclopedia of Motherhood. Sage Publications (CA). p. 602. ISBN 978-1-4522-6629-9. She organized the first official Mother's Day service at Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, on the morning of May 10, 1908. That same afternoon, 15,000 people attended a Mother's Day service at the Wanamaker Store Auditorium in Philadelphia, which she also organized. Jarvis chose the second Sunday in May for Mother's Day to mark the anniversary of her mother's death and selected her mother's favorite flower, the white carnation, as the day's official emblem.

[3] O'Reilly, Andrea (2010). Encyclopedia of Motherhood. Sage Publications. p. 972. ISBN 978-1452266299.

[virgina-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Virginia Bernhard (2002). "Mother's Day". In Joseph M. Hawes, Elizabeth F. Shores (ed.). The family in America: an encyclopedia (3, illustrated ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 714. ISBN 978-1-57607-232-5.

[5] Larossa, 1997 p. 172

[Leigh,_p._252-6] Leigh, p. 252

[7] "The First Anniversary of 'Mother's Day'", The New York Times, June 3, 1874, p. 8: "'Mother's Day,' which was inaugurated in this city on the 2nd of June, 1872, by Mrs. Julia Ward Howards [sic], was celebrated last night at Plimpton Hall by a mother's peace meeting..."

[8] Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day for Peace Archived June 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, about.com

[9] Mother's Day from "Albion's Historical Markers", maintained by an Albion, Michigan business

[:0-10] "The Father of Mother's Day | Notre Dame Archives News & Notes". www.archives.nd.edu. May 6, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2016.

[11] "Fraternal Order of Eagles: The History of Mother's Day". Archived from the original on April 15, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2008.

[12] Leigh, p. 253

[13] "They organize no crusade in the interests of so-called 'women's rights'...", NY Times, May 10, 1909

[14] "The promoters of White Carnation Day have expressed their intention to make the observance international in character...", Poverty Bay Herald, June 1, 1909

[15] Express (Washington, D.C.), May 10, 2013, p. 30.

[rice-16] Rice, Susan Tracey and Robert Haven Schauffler (1915). Mother's day: its history, origin, celebration, spirit, and significance as related in prose and verse. Moffat, Yard & company. pp. 3–5. in 1914 Congress passed a law, which Wilson signed on May 8, 1914, 'designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day', and authorizing and requesting that Wilson issue a proclamation 'calling upon the government officials to display the United States flag on all buildings, and the people of the United States to display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.'

[9may-17] Today in History: May 9 Library of Congress

[18] William H. Young, Nancy K. Young (2007), The Great Depression in America: A Cultural Encyclopedia (illustrated ed.), Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 520, ISBN 978-0-313-33520-4

[vote274-19] House Vote #274 (May 7, 2008) H. Res. 1113: Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day (Vote On Passage)

[vote275-20] House Vote #275 (May 7, 2008) Table Motion to Reconsider: H RES 1113 Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day

[nps-21] Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, National Historic Landmarks program, National Park Service, archived from the original on March 14, 2007, retrieved March 4, 2010

[22] Compare footnote 51 in LaRossa, Ralph (1997). The Modernization of Fatherhood: A Social and Political History. University of Chicago Press. p. 272. ISBN 978-0226469041. Retrieved April 28, 2016. Technically, at least, Mother's Day was 'owned' by Jarvis. She managed not only to incorporate the Mother's Day International Association, but also to register 'Second Sunday in May, Anna Jarvis, Founder,' as the organization's trademark.

[Taylor-vancouversun-23] Louisa Taylor, Canwest News Service (11 May 2008). "Mother's Day creator likely 'spinning in her grave'". Vancouver Sun. Canada. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 7 July 2008.

[24] Presidential proclamations from The American Presidency Project:
71 – Proclamation 2083 – Mother's Day Proclamation, Franklin D. Roosevelt, 3 May 1934.

Proclamation 3535 Mother's Day, 1963 John F. Kennedy, 26 April 1963.

Proclamation 3583 – Mother's Day, 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson, 23 April 1964

Proclamation 4437 – Mother's Day, 1976, Gerald Ford, 5 May 1976.

Proclamation 5801 – Mother's Day, 1988 Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Ronald Reagan, 26 April 1988.

Proclamation 6133 – Mother's Day, 1990, George Bush, 10 May 1990

Proclamation 6559 – Mother's Day, 1993, Bill Clinton, 7 May 1993.

Proclamation 8253 – Mother's Day, 2008, George W. Bush, 8 May 2008.

[25] 71 – Proclamation 2083 – Mother's Day Proclamation, Franklin D. Roosevelt, 3 May 1934.

[26] Proclamation 3535 Mother's Day, 1963 John F. Kennedy, 26 April 1963.

[27] Proclamation 3583 – Mother's Day, 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson, 23 April 1964

[28] Proclamation 4437 – Mother's Day, 1976, Gerald Ford, 5 May 1976.

[29] Proclamation 5801 – Mother's Day, 1988 Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Ronald Reagan, 26 April 1988.

[30] Proclamation 6133 – Mother's Day, 1990, George Bush, 10 May 1990

[31] Proclamation 6559 – Mother's Day, 1993, Bill Clinton, 7 May 1993.

[32] Proclamation 8253 – Mother's Day, 2008, George W. Bush, 8 May 2008.

[25] Brian Handwerk (May 11, 2012). "Mother's Day's Dark History". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2013.

[26] Marc Powers (May 11, 1996). "Mother's Day only a Hallmark holiday". Southeast Missourian. Retrieved May 11, 2013.

[leigh-27] Leigh, 1997, p. 260

[28] Leigh, 1997, p. 274

[msnbc-29] "Mother's Day reaches 100th anniversary, The woman who lobbied for this day would berate you for buying a card". NBC News. Associated Press. May 11, 2008. Retrieved July 7, 2008.

[30] Press releases:
"More Than Six Out of 10 Americans Will Have Their Mother's Day Meals at Restaurants, New National Restaurant Association Research Reveals". National Restaurant Association. May 4, 2006. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2011.

"Mother's Day Dining Fact Sheet". National Restaurant Association. April 28, 2006. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2011.

[39] "More Than Six Out of 10 Americans Will Have Their Mother's Day Meals at Restaurants, New National Restaurant Association Research Reveals". National Restaurant Association. May 4, 2006. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2011.

[40] "Mother's Day Dining Fact Sheet". National Restaurant Association. April 28, 2006. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. Retrieved April 14, 2011.

[Helzberg-31] Barnett Helzberg (2003). John Wiley and Sons (ed.). What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett. John Wiley & Sons. p. 80. ISBN 0-471-44539-8.

[32] "Recession or not: Mom comes 1st (phillyBurbs.com) | Local Business". Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved April 14, 2011.

[33] The New York Times, November 17, 1888, Temperance Sunday's programme

[34] Leigh, p. 256 "... it might even have gradually withered away like other Protestant days of the early twentieth century such as Children's Day or Temperance Sunday."

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v t e Holidays, observances, and celebrations in the United States
January	New Year's Day (federal) Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (federal) Birthday of Eugenio María de Hostos (PR) Confederate Heroes Day (TX) Eve of Three Kings' Day (PR, religious) Feast of Epiphany / Feast of Theophany (religious) Fred Korematsu Day (AZ, CA, FL, HI, VA) Idaho Human Rights Day (ID) Inauguration Day (federal quadrennial) Kansas Day (KS) Makar Sankranti / Pongal (religious) Robert E. Lee Day (FL) Stephen Foster Memorial Day (36) The Eighth (LA) Three Kings' Day (PR, VI, religious) World Religion Day (religious)
January–February	Super Bowl Sunday Chinese New Year / Lunar New Year (NY, cultural, religious) Vasant Panchami (religious)
February American Heart Month Black History Month	Washington's Birthday (federal) Valentine's Day Birthday of Luis Muñoz Marín (PR) Candlemas (religious) Charles Darwin Day / Darwin Day (CA, DE) Day of Remembrance (CA, OR, WA, cultural) Georgia Day (GA) Groundhog Day Imbolc (religious) Lincoln's Birthday (CA, CT, IL, IN, MO, NY, WV) National Girls and Women in Sports Day National Freedom Day (36) Nirvana Day (religious) Presentation of Our Lord to the Temple (religious) Promised Reformer Day (religious) Ronald Reagan Day (CA) Rosa Parks Day (CA, MO) Saviours' Day (religious) Susan B. Anthony Day (CA, FL, NY, WI, WV, proposed federal) Tu B’shvat (religious)
February–March	Mardi Gras Ash Wednesday (PR, religious) Carnival (PR, VI, religious) Clean Monday (religious) Courir de Mardi Gras (religious) Intercalary Days (religious) Mahashivaratri (religious) Purim (religious) Shrove Tuesday (religious) Super Tuesday
March Irish-American Heritage Month Colon Cancer Awareness Month Women's History Month	Saint Patrick's Day (religious) Spring break (week) Annunciation of the Virgin Mary / Annunciation of the Theotokos (religious) Casimir Pulaski Day (IL) Cesar Chavez Day (CA, CO, TX, proposed federal) Emancipation Day in Puerto Rico (PR, cultural) Evacuation Day (Suffolk County, MA) Harriet Tubman Day (NY) Hola Mohalla (religious) Holi (NY, religious) L. Ron Hubbard's Birthday (religious) Lailat al-Mi'raj (religious) Liberation and Freedom Day (Charlottesville, VA, cultural) Mardi Gras (AL (in two counties), LA) Maryland Day (MD) Medal of Honor Day National Poison Prevention Week (week) Nowruz (cultural, religious) Ostara (religious) Pi Day Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole Day (HI) Promised Messiah Day (religious) Saint Joseph's Day (religious) Seward's Day (AK) Texas Independence Day (TX) Town Meeting Day (VT) Transfer Day (VI) Trans Day of Visibility (cultural)
March–April	Easter (religious) Good Friday (CT, NC, PR, NJ, VI, religious) Hanuman Jayanti (religious) Holy Thursday (PR, VI, religious) Holy Week (PR, religious, week) Lazarus Saturday (religious) Mahavir Janma Kalyanak (religious) Mesha Sankranti / Hindu New Year (religious) Palm Sunday (PR, religious) Passover (religious, week) Easter Monday / Bright Monday (VI, religious) Ramnavami (religious) Chandramana Uugadi / Souramana Uugadi (religious)
April Arab American Heritage Month Confederate History Month	420 April Fools' Day Arbor Day Birthday of José de Diego (PR) Confederate Memorial Day (AL, MS) Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust (week) Earth Day Emancipation Day (cultural) Thomas Jefferson's Birthday (AL) Lag B’Omer (religious) Last Friday of Great Lent (religious) Pascua Florida (FL) Patriots' Day (MA, ME) Ridván (religious) San Jacinto Day (TX) Siblings Day Walpurgis Night (religious) Yom Ha'atzmaut (cultural, religious)
May Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Jewish American Heritage Month Military Appreciation Month	Memorial Day (federal) Mother's Day (36) Cinco de Mayo Ascension of Baháʼu'lláh (religious) Ascension of Our Lord (religious) Caliphate Day (religious) Declaration of the Bab (religious) Harvey Milk Day (CA) International Workers' Day / May Day (CA, unofficial, proposed state) Law Day (36) Loyalty Day (36) Malcolm X Day (CA, IL, proposed federal) Military Spouse Day National Day of Prayer (36) National Day of Reason National Defense Transportation Day (36) National Maritime Day (36) Peace Officers Memorial Day (36) Pentecost (religious) Shavuot (religious) Truman Day (MO) Vesak / Buddha's Birthday (religious)
June Pride Month	Juneteenth (federal, cultural) Father's Day (36) Bunker Hill Day (Suffolk County, MA) Carolina Day (SC) Don Young Day (AK) Fast of the Holy Apostles (religious) Flag Day (36, proposed federal) Helen Keller Day (PA) Honor America Days (3 weeks) Jefferson Davis Day (AL, FL) Kamehameha Day (HI) Litha (religious) Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Sahib (religious) Odunde Festival (Philadelphia, PA, cultural) Senior Week (week) Saint John's Day (PR, religious) West Virginia Day (WV)
July	Independence Day (federal) Asalha Puja Day (religious) Birthday of Don Luis Muñoz Rivera (PR) Birthday of Dr. José Celso Barbosa (PR) Emancipation Day in the U.S. Virgin Islands (VI, cultural) Guru Purnima (religious) Khordad Sal (religious) Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea (HI, unofficial, cultural) Martyrdom of the Báb (religious) Parents' Day (36) Pioneer Day (UT) Puerto Rico Constitution Day (PR)
July–August	Summer vacation Tisha B'Av (religious)
August	American Family Day (AZ) Barack Obama Day in Illinois (IL) Bennington Battle Day (VT) Dormition of the Theotokos (religious) Eid-e-Ghadeer (religious) Fast in Honor of the Holy Mother of Lord Jesus (religious) Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (religious) Hawaii Admission Day / Statehood Day (HI) Krishna Janmashtami (religious) Lammas (religious) Lyndon Baines Johnson Day (TX) Naga Panchami (religious) National Aviation Day (36) Paryushana (religious) Raksha Bandhan (religious) Transfiguration of the Lord (religious) Victory Day (RI) Women's Equality Day (36)
September Prostate Cancer Awareness Month Childhood Cancer Awareness Month	Labor Day (federal) Brazilian Day (NY, cultural) California Admission Day (CA) Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Day (36) Constitution Day and Citizenship Day (36) Constitution Week Defenders Day (MD) Elevation of the Holy Cross (religious) Feast of San Gennaro (NY, cultural, religious) Ganesh Chaturthi (religious) Gold Star Mother's Day (36) His Holiness Sakya Trizin's Birthday (religious) Mabon (religious) National Grandparents Day (36) National Payroll Week (week) Nativity of Mary / Nativity of the Theotokos (religious) Native American Day (proposed federal) Patriot Day (36) Von Steuben Day
September–October Hispanic Heritage Month	Chehlum Imam Hussain (religious) Oktoberfest Pitri Paksha (religious) Rosh Hashanah / Feast of Trumpets (TX, NY, religious) Shemini Atzeret (religious) Simchat Torah (religious) Vijaya Dashami (religious) Yom Kippur / Day of Atonement (TX, NY, religious)
October Breast Cancer Awareness Month Disability Employment Awareness Month Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month Filipino American History Month LGBT History Month	Columbus Day (federal) Halloween Alaska Day (AK) Child Health Day (36) General Pulaski Memorial Day German-American Day Indigenous Peoples' Day International Day of Non-Violence Leif Erikson Day (36) Missouri Day (MO) Nanomonestotse (cultural) National School Lunch Week (week) Native American Day in South Dakota (SD) Nevada Day (NV) Spirit Day (cultural) Sweetest Day Sukkot / Feast of Tabernacles (religious, week) Virgin Islands–Puerto Rico Friendship Day (PR, VI) White Cane Safety Day (36)
October–November	Birth of the Báb (religious) Birth of Baháʼu'lláh (religious) Day of the Dead (VI) Diwali (NY, religious) Mawlid al-Nabi (religious)
November Native American Indian Heritage Month	Veterans Day (federal) Thanksgiving (federal) Ascension of ‘Abdu’l Baha (religious) All Saints' Day (religious) Beginning of the Nativity Fast (religious) Beltane / Samhain (religious) Barack Obama Day in Alabama (Perry County, AL) D. Hamilton Jackson Day (VI) Day after Thanksgiving (24) Day of the Covenant (religious) Discovery of Puerto Rico Day (PR) Election Day (CA, DE, HI, KY, MT, NJ, NY, OH, PR, VA, WV, proposed federal) Family Day (NV) Guru Nanak Gurpurab (religious) Hanukkah (religious) Lā Kūʻokoʻa (HI, unofficial, cultural) Martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur (religious) Native American Heritage Day (MD, WA, cultural) Presentation of the Theotokos to the Temple (religious) Trans Day of Remembrance (cultural) Unthanksgiving Day (cultural)
December	Christmas (religious, federal) New Year's Eve Advent Sunday (religious) Alabama Day (AL) Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh Sahib (religious) Bodhi Day (religious) Chalica (religious) Christmas Eve (KY, NC, SC, PR, VI) Day after Christmas (KY, NC, SC, TX, VI) Festivus HumanLight Hanukkah (religious, week) Immaculate Conception (religious) Indiana Day (IN) Kwanzaa (cultural, week) Milad Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin (religious) National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day (36) Nativity of Jesus (religious) Old Year's Night (VI) Pan American Aviation Day (36) Pancha Ganapati (religious, week) Rosa Parks Day (OH, OR) Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (religious) Wright Brothers Day (36) Yule (religious) Zartosht No-Diso (religious)
Varies (year round)	Eid al-Adha (NY, religious) Eid al-Fitr (NY, religious) Islamic New Year (religious) Yawm al-Arafa (religious) Hajj (religious) Laylat al-Qadr (religious) Navaratri (religious, four times a year) Obon (religious) Onam (religious) Ramadan (religious, month) Ghost Festival (religious) Yawm Aashura (religious)
Legend: (federal) = federal holidays, (abbreviation) = state/territorial holidays, (religious) = religious holidays, (cultural) = holiday related to a specific racial/ethnic group or sexual minority, (week) = week-long holidays, (month) = month-long holidays, (36) = Title 36 Observances and Ceremonies See also: Lists of holidays, Hallmark holidays, Public holidays in the United States, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands.