Mother's Day carnations

What it is

On the second Sunday of May, children give their mothers carnations, singly or in bunches. In the older American custom people wore one: white in memory of a mother who had died, red or pink for a mother still living. In Japan red carnations are the standard gift and fill shop fronts in early May. In South Korea children pin a carnation to their parents' chests on Parents' Day, 8 May.

Where it comes from

Anna Jarvis of West Virginia campaigned for a day to honour mothers after her own mother died. In May 1908 she sent hundreds of white carnations, her mother's favourite flower, to a memorial service at a church in Grafton. The idea spread quickly, and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. Jarvis came to dislike what followed. She spent years protesting against florists and card makers who, in her view, had turned the day into a sale.

Other flowers, other dates

Australia keeps the May date, which falls in autumn there, and the flower of the day is the chrysanthemum, in season and conveniently ending in mum. Thailand marks Mother's Day on 12 August, the birthday of Queen Sirikit, with white jasmine. In Britain and Ireland, Mothering Sunday falls in Lent, usually in March, and the old gift is a small bunch of spring flowers such as violets or daffodils. The habit of wearing a flower has faded almost everywhere, and giving a bunch has taken its place.

How to take part

1. Check the date where your mother lives. It varies by country.
2. Buy carnations in bud with a little colour showing, and they will last two weeks or more in clean water.
3. Add a handwritten note. That was the part the founder cared about most.

Good manners

• Where the red and white custom is known, avoid giving white carnations to a living mother.
• Send flowers to arrive on or before the day, not after it.

The flowers

CarnationA fragrant flower with ruffled petals, grown worldwide for decoration and meaningChrysanthemumAutumn-blooming flower with thousands of varieties, cherished in East Asia and beyondArabian jasmineA small white jasmine with a strong, sweet scent, treasured in Asia for garlands and ceremoniesNarcissusSpring-flowering bulbs with trumpet-shaped blooms in white, yellow, and orangeSweet VioletA scented violet with edible leaves and flowers, native to Eurasia

Sources and further reading

• Mother's Day on Wikipedia