Mother's Day, one of the most successful commercial holidays of the calendar year has an interesting history and variety of tokens.
Six Billion dollars worth of flowers, meals, greeting cards and gifts will be lavished on America’s Mothers today. For the idealistic, Mother’s Day is a tribute to love in its purest form, for the slightly more cynical, it’s a collecting opportunity. Here’s how our Mother’s day celebration came to be, and what collectors buy for their mothers.
Ancient Greek & Roman Mothers
Like many American holidays, Mother’s day has its roots in Pagan festivals and traditions. The Greeks celebrated holidays based on goddesses and their mothers including Rhea (Greece) Mother of: Demeter (harvest), Hades (underworld) Hera (marriage & childbirth) Hestia (home & hearth) Poseidon (sea) and Zeus (king of the gods). In Rome the mother of the Gods (Cybele) was celebrated during the Feast of Hilaria which ran from March 15th -18th. Spring, recognized by the ancients as the season of rebirth and fertility, seems a logical choice for a celebration of motherhood.
17th Century English Mothers
Once again, the Christians borrowed heavily from earlier cultures, and in the 1600’s the fourth Sunday of Lent was named as a day to honor Mary. The English made it a holiday to honor all mothers, and named it Mothering Sunday. On this day, all children honored their mothers-a special mothering cake was made, and all servants got the day off to spend with their mothers.
Mother’s Day in America
Mother’s Day in the United States has a circuitous history. After the War Between the States, Julia Ward Howe, (who wrote the lyrics to Battle Hymn of the Republic), lobbied to unite mothers against war. Her Mother’s Day Proclamation For Peace was issued in 1872.
Ann Jarvis & Mother’s Work Day
Howe had been inspired by Ann Jarvis, a social activist who organized what she named Mother’s Work Day, an attempt to improve sanitation and living conditions in Appalachia. Her efforts during and after the Civil War helped reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors through common cause. After Jarvis’ death in 1907, her daughter crusaded to found a memorial day for women. The first was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia on May 10th, 1908. The following year, the holiday was observed in Philadelphia, and by 1911, almost every state celebrated Mother’s Day. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson officially designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day Tokens
In 2008, Americans will spend almost six billion dollars on their mothers. Industry analysts predict that $2.6 billion will be spent on flowers, and $68 million on greeting cards. Mother’s day jewelry purchases make up almost 8% of annual sales.
Collectible Mother’s Day
People buy their mothers all sorts of things as Mother’s Day gifts. While Orek, the vacuum manufacturer, wants the public to believe that a new vacuum cleaner is what Mommy wants, typically, jewelry, collector plates, mugs, stuffed animals, and sentimental plaques are gifts of choice (of the giver, if not the recipient).
Avon does a good business with special issue collector plates. Recently, a new in box 2008 Mother’s Day collector plate of porcelain embellished with 24K gold sold for $47 on eBay. The 1981 version brought $13, so clearly Mother’s Day Collectible Plates are for sentimental purposes, and not an investment opportunity. Additional Mother’s Day collectibles include framed mottos. These are beautifully illustrated framed tributes to Mother that were produced in the thousands early in the 20th century. Longaberger, the basket company produced Mother’s Day baskets over a series of years that can be found at $49 and up. Mother’s Day collectibles also include vintage postcards, greeting cards, handkerchiefs, and candy boxes and tins.
Source: Official Price Guide to Christmas and Other Holiday Collectibles by Dawn Reno Langley House of Collectibles 2006
