Every year Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of the May month in most countries honouring moms and  the altruistic work they do every day to make our lives better. The day celebrates motherhood and appreciates their unconditional love and care. Mother's Day in the year 2018 falls on May 13. People try to make the day special for their mothers by doing various things. Mother's days' gifts are quite popular in the market around the day. Everything from personalised gifts to greeting cards and flowers addressing mothers is on the hype around this time of the year. You can pick some of the best messages and GIF images to wish your mother's this special day.

Meanwhile, some parts of Europe and the UK honours moms by celebrating Mothering Sunday. While originally it was linked to religion in the country, eventually it lost the connections to the church. It is now considered as a family day to thank mothers.

Mother's Day History and Importance

There are quite some theories and stories related to Mother's Day in different countries. While each story has a story to say, here is the most popular one. The modern-day Mother's Day came into being in 1908 when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew's Methodist Church which now holds the International Mother's Day Shrine. She chose the second Sunday in May because it was the Sunday closest to her mother's death. And white carnation, Reeves' favourite flower, became the Mothers' Day symbol.

The day was later officially declared by President Wilson, however, Jarvis was disappointed by the commercialization of it. Many countries followed suit with America and adopted second Sunday of May as Mother's Day. She wanted to honour her mother and to set aside a day for all mothers as she believed a mother is "the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world". Owing to her continued efforts, Mother's Day was first celebrated as a local holiday and later became popular.

However, she was unhappy with the commercialisation of the holiday. She thought her idea of Mother's Day was misinterpreted and demanded how it should be a personal feeling towards mothers. Thus, Anna Jarvis who worked for the implementation of the day started organising protests against it. She threatened to sue companies who pioneered in commercialising the day. By 1925, selling of carnations by the American War Mothers to raise money began which angered Jarvis. She was thus arrested for disturbing the peace.

In 1912, Anna Jarvis created the Mother's Day International Association and trademarked the phrases 'Second Sunday in May' and 'Mother's Day'. She specifically noted that "Mother's" should "be a singular possessive, for each family to honour its own mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world." In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother's Day as a national holiday to honour mothers after US Congress passed a law designating.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 12, 2018 08:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).