Welcome to May and Mother’s Day!

Mother’s Day is this Sunday and we’d like you to know that while it’s too late to create a pottery piece, there’s still canvas painting or, better yet, bring your mom to ClayZ on Sunday and have a family fun day.  Mom’s will get 10% off pottery and so will the kids (because without them, we wouldn’t be moms, would we?).

Some fun facts about Mother’s Day:

• Although there are traces in history beginning with the ancient Greeks and Romans, here in the U.S. Anna Jarvis started Mother’s Day to honor the sacrifices of mothers (specifically starting with her mother) for their children back in 1908 (her mother had recently passed away).
• Anna Jarvis organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia.  It was financed by John Wanamaker, a department store owner.  (I found information that says that the first celebration included his Philadelphia store, but I don’t see how many stores he owned.)
• Anna worked diligently to get Mother’s Day added to the calendar, and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the second Sunday of May each year as Mother’s Day.
• Anna remained unmarried and childless throughout her life.
• By 1920 Anna had become so disgusted with the commercialization of Mother’s Day (after florists and other retailers assisted her in promoting Mother’s Day) that she tried to have it removed from the calendars and until her death in 1948 spent most of her fortune in legal fees fighting the commercial use of the term “Mother’s Day.”
• More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year, causing phone traffic spikes of up to 37%.
• Over the years it has also been used as a day to launch movements with regard to the health and well being of women and children.

I can tell you from my experience as a mom — Mom doesn’t want presents, she wants time.  Time enjoying her children and family.   So, this Mother’s Day – give your mom some of your time.

Happy Mother’s Day from all the staff, Wicked too, at ClayZ.

(Thank you for the history lesson at History.com.)