FOCUS | HOLIDAYS

THE ICON OF MOM

Sunday marks the nation's 102nd observance of
Mother's Day, which has been officially celebrated on the
second Sunday of the month since 1914. Its creator was
Anna Jarvis, who would later speak against the
commercialization of the celebration of mom.
By KURT SNIBBE | Southern California News Group

Its whiteness is to symbolize

the truth, purity and broad
charity of mother love; its
fragrance, her memory, and her
prayers. The carnation does not
drop its petals,
but hugs them
to its heart as
it dies, and so,
too, mothers
hug their
children to
their hearts,
their mother
love never dying

SAY IT WITH FLOWERS

After Jarvis got Mothers Day

national recognition she was
disappointed by the commercial
interests that followed. The
original intent was to simply
salute mothers by wearing a
white carnation. The day
became so successful,
flower companies began
overpricing carnations, which
Jarvis spoke out against.
California is a leading provider of
cut flowers. In 2009, the state
accounted for 75 percent of
domestic flower production
($269 million).

MOTHER AS THE SOLE OR PRIMARY PROVIDER

Percentage based on households with
children under age 18
40%

Married mother/
primary provider

20%

Single mother

Anna Jarvis

1960

HOW MUCH WE SPEND ON MOTHER

According to the National Retail Federation

Americans spent about $172 on mom for
Mothers Day in 2015 -those spending on
mom, versus a per-person rate.
$22.5
$21.4

Total spending in billions

$20

$20

1970

1980 1990

2000

2011

805,137
Number of childcare centers
across the country in 2009.
These included 75,396 centers
employing 869,468 workers and
another 729,741 self-employed
people or other businesses
without paid employees. Many
mothers turn to these centers
to help juggle motherhood
and careers.
Source: County Business Patterns: 2009

$17.5
$15

$12.5
2006

4 million
Number of women between
the ages of 15 and 50 who
gave birth in the past
12 months.

$13.4
2011

2016

RECENT BIRTHS
4.13 million

Number of births registered in 2009 in

the U.S. Of this number, 409,840 were
to teens 15 to 19 and 7,934 to women
age 45 to 54.

20%
Percentage of all women age
15 to 44 who have had two
children. About 47 percent
had no children, 17 percent
had one, 10 percent had
three and about 5 percent
had four or more.

28.7%
27.3%
23.3%
23.1%

Online
Discount store
Local/small business
8.6%

Specialty clothing store

Catalog

1.9%

78.4%

Greeting cards

33%

Specialty store

10 million
The number of single
mothers living with
children younger than 18 in
2011, up from 3.4 million
in 1970.

WHAT WE BUY MOM Percentage buying, among those celebrating

WHERE WE BUY MOTHERS DAY GIFTS

Department store

SINGLE MOMS

66.5%

Flowers
55.2%

Dinner/brunch
43.2%

Gift cards

35.4%
35.3%

Clothing or accessories
Jewelry
Other
Personal service
Books or CDs
Housewares
Electronics

23.6%
22.5%
19.5%
18.8%
13.8%

Sources: U.S. Census, National Retail Federation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Bureau of Labor Statistics