From his work as an artist and architect to unusual interactions with former U.S. Presidents, King Charles III has lived a long and storied life. Learn more about the life and times of England's reigning monarch with these nine majestic facts.
Going out to a fancy restaurant is often tied to a special occasion — and there's no special occasion quite like one for moms. Research from the National Restaurant Association has found that in an average year,about a third of U.S. adults visit a restaurant to celebrate on Mother's Day. That often makes Mother's Day thebusiest day of the year for restaurants. This deluge of diners even surpasses Valentine's Day, perhaps because the mid-February holiday really only takes up tables for two, whereas a Mother's Day celebration often takes up a four-top or more.
Restaurants aren't the only businesses that get a boost on Mother's Day. TheNational Retail Federation estimated that consumers were expecting to spend $31 billion on Mother's Day celebrations in 2022, with a big chunk of that change being forked over for jewelry, while other industries, such as spa services, also see a noticeable uptick. However, the two biggest winners of the day besides restaurants areflorists (it's their third-most-lucrative day of the year) and greeting card companies (which deliver heartfelt salutations tothree-quarters of the moms in America). Overall, Americans spend much more on gifts for mom than dad — people spent an average of $246 on Mother's Day in 2022, compared to$171 for Father's Day. Sorry, dad.
The word for "mother" in nearly every language can be attributed to babies.
The word for "mother" in nearly every language can be attributed to babies.
Ancient Greeks worshipped the goddess __ as the mother of the gods during a spring fertility festival.
Numbers Don't Lie
Estimated number of mothers in the world, according to a 2014 Pew Research Study
2.2 billion
Median age for first-time mothers in the U.S.
30
The salary stay-at-home mothers should make, based on 2019 research by Salary.com
$178,201
Year President Woodrow Wilson made Mother's Day an official national holiday
1914
Mother's Day was originally an anti-war protest.
Following four bloody years of the U.S. Civil War,two women called for a "mother's day" to push for peace. In the summer of 1865, Ann Jarvis created Mothers' Friendship Days in West Virginia that aimed to bring together Americans from all political backgrounds, and she continued the annual tradition for years. Inspired by Jarvis,Julia Ward Howe — who famously penned the lyrics to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" — also wrote an "Appeal to Womanhood Throughout the World" in 1870, highlighting men's role in war and calling on women to resist being "made a party to proceedings which fill the world with grief and horror." She also tried to establish June 2 as "Mother's Day for Peace." However,it wasn't until 1908 that Anna Jarvis (the daughter of the West Virginia peace activist) celebrated a "Mother's Day" in May in honor of her deceased mother. Within a decade, the observance became a nationally recognized holiday.
Women have created or improved near-countless contraptions, tools, and procedures, from fashion innovations to kitchen implements to lifesaving medical advancements. Many of these technological breakthroughs have become common conveniences that make our lives easier and safer.