When Is Mother's Day 2012?
Perfume is a popular Mother's Day gift and Americans have a number of shopping options. There were 14,279 cosmetics, beauty supplies and perfume stores in the country as of 2009. Reuters

When is Mothers' Day 2012? Your mother will be upset if you don't know the date and forget to get her a present.

Mother's Day falls on May 13, and for future reference, the holiday is always celebrated on the second Sunday in May.

Mother's Day began about 150 years ago, when Appalachian housewife Anna Jarvis organized a day to raise awareness of poor health conditions in her community, which she believed is best advocated by mothers, according to 123Holiday.net.

After Jarvis died, her daughter, also named Anna, started a campaign to pay tribute to her mom's work.

Legend has it that young Anna remembered a Sunday school lesson that her mother gave in which she said, I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother's day. There are many days for men, but none for mothers, the younger Anna Jarvis reportedly said.

Anna Jarvis lobbied Presidents William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt as well as businessman John Wanamaker to create a special day for mothers.

She organized Mother's Day observances in Grafton, W. Va., and Philadelphia on May 10, 1908, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill from congress recognizing Mother's Day as a national holiday.

In the early days of the holiday, Mother's Day was commemorated by going to church and sending cards, gifts and flowers to their mothers.

The gift giving and other customers reportedly enraged Anna Davis and she expressed regret for thinking of the holiday.

Mother's Day Facts (from U.S. Census Bureau)

  • According to the latest Census figures, there are 85.4 million mothers in the United States, as of 2009.
  • About 4 million women between the ages of 15 and 50 gave birth within the last year
  • More than half of women between the ages of 15 and 50 were mothers in 2010
  • Of women between 40 and 44, 81 percent of them were mothers as of 2010. In 1976, 90 percent of women in that age group had given birth
  • 17,124 floral shops opened up across America in 2009. Floral shops account for 75,855 employees
  • There were 99 greeting card publishers in 2008 and they employed 11,044 people
  • There were 24,973 jewelry stores in America in 2009.
  • Perfume is a popular Mother's Day gift and Americans have a number of shopping options. There were 14,279 cosmetics, beauty supplies and perfume stores in the country as of 2009.
  • The number of single mothers in the country is increasing. There were 10 million single mothers with children younger than 18 last year, compared to 3.4 million in 1970.
  • Of the single mothers who have custody of their children, 5.2 million were due child support in 2009
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