Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Mother's Day, May 13, 2012

Anna M. Jarvis's Mother's Day in 1908

After Anna Reeves Jarvis died, her daughter Anna M. Jarvis campaigned for the creation of an official Mother’s Day in remembrance of her mother and in honor of peace. In 1908, Anna petitioned the superintendent of the church where her Mother had spent over 20 years teaching Sunday School. Her request was honored, and on May 10, 1908, the first official Mother's Day celebration took place at Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia and a church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The West Virginia event drew a congregation of 407 and Anna Jarvis arranged for white carnations—her Mother’s favorite flower—to adorn the patrons. Two carnations were given to every Mother in attendance. Today, white carnations are used to honor deceased Mothers, while pink or red carnations pay tribute to Mothers who are still alive. Andrew's Methodist Church exists to this day, and was incorporated into the International Mother’s Day Shrine in 1962.

Modern Celebration

When the United States congress approved Mother’s Day in 1914, they designated it for the second Sunday in May, and required that the President proclaim the Holiday every year shortly prior to its commencement. Typically a family in the United States will devote Mother’s Day to activities in honor of mom, whether playing games, going out to dinner, taking the weekend off or going on a walk in the park. Flowers are popular, dating back to the original celebration where Anna Jarvis (one of the initiators of the holiday) handed out carnations to the church-goers. It is also common to give Mother's Day card or chocolate candies on her special day.
In the United States Mother's Day continues to be highly commercialized.
  • The National Retail Foundation estimates that Mother's Day is a $16 Billion industry.
  • Google Trends shows a sharp spike in search traffic for Mother's Day on Mother's Day in the US and UK and the month leading up to it.
  • Florists see their highest sales in May.
  • US restaurants claim that it is the busiest day of the year.
  • Long distance telephone calls also peak on this day.
  • The US Postal Service experiences increased volume during the surrounding days.
  • According to Hallmark (via About.com), 96% of American consumers take part in shopping on Mother's Day, while retailers report it as the second highest gift giving day of the year behind Christmas.
Taken from 'The History of Mother's Day'   http://www.mothersdaycentral.com/about-mothersday/history/










I decided, rather at the last minute, that along with the 'store bought' gifts, I would make Mother's Day Cupcakes for the mom's in my life. Knowing it would take a good 24 hrs for gumpaste flowers to dry properly and I chose to improvise with paper flowers instead. This little experiment turned out well and gave me some great ideas for future cupcake toppers!





























I did have a few gumpaste flowers on hand, just not enough to go around. Because it was Mother's Day and I wanted the boxes of cupcakes to look as pretty as the mom's we love, I really needed them to fit the mood of this special day. So after searching through my plethera of hobby supplies, I came up with the idea to make these white and pink peonies out of tissue and rhinestones. I just love it when an idea comes together...












Baking cups for cupcakes, they just give cupcakes a whole different appeal! There's just something extra special about they way they look.





I love the batter of my Vanilla~Vanilla Cupcakes! The rich flavor of vanilla beans and real butter adds something special to otherwise ordinary vanilla. I decided to throw in a dark chocolate, coconut cupcake for good measure...it's the one with the chocolate drop in the center.

It's amazing what one can do with Vanilla cupcakes, Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and a tissue paper~

Best of All...the mom's enjoyed them!








Simply Pretty in Pink!  It doesn't take much to turn ordinary into extraordinary!