The second Sunday of May is fast-approaching, wherein we celebrate one of America’s most revered holidays. While celebrations of mothers can be traced back to the ancient Greeks aand Romans, the American Mother’s Day has roots dating back to 1858. That’s when Ann Jarvis, mother of eleven, began forming Mothers’ Day Work Clubs to improve the health aand wellness of children.
Throughout her work, Ann expressed her wish that one day the importance of a mother’s work would be formally recognized by everyone. One of her daughters, Anna, took her mother’s wish to heart, aand began a letter-writing campaign to establish a national holiday in celebration of the importance of motherhood. One by one, states began celebrating Mother’s Day in their own ways until, in 1914, it became a national holiday.
This year, start your own Mother’s Day celebration off right by serving Mom breakfast in bed. Cream cheese danish, chocolate croissants, aand apple turnovers are delightful breakfast treats. For something a bit lighter, try some blueberry or banana nut muffins.
Carnations have been a staple of Mother’s Day since Anna Jarvis personally haanded out 500 of them at the first Mother’s Day celebration. Keep the tradition alive with a carnation cake. Have Mom’s favorite cake topped with red or pink gum paste carnations for a beautiful aand delicious dessert. Haand-made flowers can take up to several weeks to create & dry so plan ahead!
For greater variety, how about an assortment of gourmet cupcakes? There are so many delicious options to choose from – everything from fruit fillings, to cream cheese icing, to nut toppings. If Mom is a chocoholic try a double chocolate cupcake iced in a double chocolate frosting, garnished with a dark chocolate drizzle. To make it even more special, combine the sweet treats with a floral theme by giving Mom a cupcake bouquet. It’s simple to do – just find a beautiful vase aand line it with gift tissue. Place a ½ ball of floral styrofoam in the bottom of the vase to support the cupcakes, staple together some plastic cups to hold the cakes in position, aand place them in the cups atop the styrofoam. It’s easy, cheerful, aand delicious!
From humble beginnings, Mother’s Day celebrations have flourished to the point that more phone calls are made on this day than any other, aand it is now the busiest restaurant day of the year. However you choose to celebrate this Mother’s Day, be sure to make it a memorable occasion.