We'll try to find a spare sunbeam.
Jasmine & Mariachi Bands
Mother’s Day originated in 1908 as a memorial service for the mother of one Anna Jarvis, a West Virginia woman who then campaigned to make the day a national holiday. She envisioned children honoring their mothers with ‘thoughtful hand-written letters’. When Hallmark, etc turned it into a day to exchange greeting cards, bouquets of flowers, and candy, Ms Jarvis was NOT amused. In fact, she was arrested while protesting at a candy makers’ convention.
But if she was dismayed at cards, flowers, and trinkets, what would she have made of mariachis? In Mexico, the celebration includes a mariachi band and singer performing a special song honoring mothers. Thailand, on the other hand, celebrates Mother’s Day in August, on the birthday of their queen. The preferred gift is bunches of fragrant jasmine. And Swedish children sell small bouquets, the proceeds then used to send mothers of young children on a short holiday.
The most unusual custom I found belongs to parts of the former Yugoslavia, where children sneak into their parents’ bedroom before dawn and tie their mother up. She is released only after giving small gifts to her children, which seems more like Children’s Day than Mother’s Day, somehow.
I already know that I’ll love my Mother’s Day gift; my daughter will be home from LA, and there is nothing on earth I like better than time with my girl. We’ll probably have a nice brunch and a little wine, too. Wine is almost never a bad idea-if you agree, we’ll be happy to help you select something delicious. But I truly hope you do not celebrate Mother’s Day by tying her up.