Mother's Day Greetings

BLUE MOUNTAIN POTTERY

By: Judy Penz Sheluk

As seen in The Antique Shoppe Newspaper May 2006

1920s Hallmark Mother's Day Card. 1920, Cost Unknown (Father's Day cards at this time were 10 cents). Image Courtesy of Hallmark

“When I was knee high to a duck, you paddled me without much luck! And when you thought I had the chills, You stuffed me down with oils and pills! In spite of which, my Mother dear - I love you better every year.” 1920s Hallmark Mother’s Day Card.

The earliest Mother’s Day celebrations can be traced back to ancient Greece, when spring festivities were held in honor of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. Mothers were also honored in England during the 1600s, when Mothering Sunday was celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent.

During this time, many of England’s poor worked as servants, and often lived at the houses of their affluent employers. On Mothering Sunday, the servants were given the day off, and encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers.

In America, the concept of Mother’s Day was first suggested by Julia Ward Howe, who wrote the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic. In 1870, haunted by her experiences of the Civil War, Howe took on the cause of peace. Her idea was influenced by a young Appalachian homemaker named Anna Jarvis, who had attempted to improve sanitation during the Civil War through what she called Mothers’ Work Days.

Julia Ward Howe envisioned women coming together to oppose war in all its forms by finding peaceful resolutions to conflicts. She issued a Declaration in the hopes of establishing a day dedicated to peace, and organized Mother’s Day meetings in Boston every year. Despite her best efforts, the idea was never formally recognized during her lifetime.

American Greetings card from 1930's. Courtesy: American Greetings

The daughter of Anna Jarvis, also named Anna, was far more successful. Following her mother’s death, she began a campaign to establish a memorial day for all mothers. The first celebration was held in Grafton, West Virginia in the church where the elder Anna Jarvis had taught Sunday School. The date chosen, the second Sunday of May, 1907, was also the second anniversary of her mother’s death.

By the following year Mother’s Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia, and Jarvis and her supporters wrote ministers, businessman, and politicians in a quest to establish a national Mother’s Day. It was a successful campaign. By 1911, Mother’s Day was celebrated in almost every state. The second Sunday of May was officially proclaimed a national holiday in 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson signed a Congressional resolution declaring “The American mother is the greatest source of the country’s strength and inspiration.”

By the 1920s, major greeting card publishers like Hallmark, Carlton and American Greetings were producing Mother’s Day cards. Like other printed matter, greeting cards have continued to evolve and are often reflective of the times. What may have been acceptable in the 1920s – a stylish Art Deco mother smoking a cigarette – certainly would not be appropriate today – unless it was in the form of a humorous studio card (a long card with a short punch line), first introduced in the 1950s.

1960 Hallmark Card $.50. Image Courtesy of Hallmark

Character-driven cards such as Carlton Cards/American Greetings Holly Hobbie and Hallmark’s Betsey Clark images first appeared in the 1960s, to tremendous results. Betsey Clark’s waifs would grace Hallmark’s first ‘Limited Edition’ Christmas ornaments in 1973. American Greetings had a comparable tale; in 1977, Holly Hobbie had become the most sought after female-oriented licensed character in the world.

In 1980, fueled by the popularity of Holly Hobbie, American Greetings introduced Strawberry Shortcake, a character who generated the company $500 million in retail sales. They followed up a winning formula with the introduction of the Care Bears in 1981, selling over 70 million Care Bear greeting cards during the 1980s.

Today, there are an estimated 3,000 greeting card publishers in the United States alone, with retail card sales estimated at nearly $7.5 billion annually. While the most popular seasonal cards are Christmas and Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day cards are firmly entrenched in third place, with 49 percent of households purchasing 2 or more cards for the occasion. Some, like Holly Hobbie, Strawberry Shortcake and Betsey Clark, may go on to launch a generation of future collectibles, toys and trinkets. But most will just be collected by somebody’s mother - a loving memento, safely tucked inside an empty box of chocolates.

For More Information

American Greetings card from 1920's. Courtesy American Greetings

Greeting Card Association [www.greetingcard.org]

1156 15th Street NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005 (202) 393-1778

In 1941, a War Department order directed that paper use be cut by 25 percent. In an effort to protect a $43 million dollar industry, which numbered about 100 card publishers, a small group of greeting card publishers formed an organization called the Greeting Card Industry.

The new greeting card organization launched “Defense Stamp Christmas Cards” and V-Mail greeting cards to help promote the sale of defense stamps and war bonds. Another association effort, “Greeting Cards in Wartime,” demonstrated how greeting cards could help families stay in touch while boosting the morale of soldiers fighting abroad. To promote their campaign, they provided millions of greeting cards to wounded servicemen through the Red Cross.

American Greetings card from 1930's. Courtesy American Greetings

Mother’s Day Around the World [Source: Hallmark]

Countries that celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Japan, Turkey, United States

Countries that celebrate Mother's Day on May 10: Bahrain, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates

Other Dates: Argentina - Second Sunday in October; France- Last Sunday in May; Lebanon - First day of Spring; Norway - Second Sunday in February; South Africa - First Sunday in May; Spain and Portugal - December 8, the Virgin Mary’s Day, as well as a day to honour mothers; Sweden - Last Sunday in May

Children’s Day in Yugoslavia [Source: Hallmark] Three Sundays before Christmas, the tradition of Dechiyi Dan (Children’s Day) begins in Yugoslavia, where parents tie up their children and refuse to release them until they are good. The following Sunday, known as Materitse or Materice (Mother’s Day), children tie up their mother, releasing her only when she has paid them with sweets or other treats. The third Sunday, known as Ochichi or Ocevi (Father’s Day), children try to tie their father to a bed or chair. To be released, the father must promise coats, shoes or other more expensive items. These promises usually appear as the children’s Christmas gifts.

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