Sunday is Mother's Day in the U.S. and scores of countries around the world.
Mother's Day is a time to celebrate and appreciate all the work that women do.
According to the History Channel, Mother's Day became an official U.S. holiday in 1914, due to the efforts of Anna Jarvis, who saw the holiday as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers make for their children.
Jarvis had originally envisioned Mother's Day as a day of personal celebration between mothers and families. However, when the day became an official holiday, it was not long before florists, card companies and other merchants pounced to capitalize on the day’s popularity.
Jarvis felt the commercialism was destroying Mother's Day and disowned the holiday before her death in 1948. She had even lobbied the government to remove the holiday from the American calendar.
But Mother's Day persists. It is one of the most popular holidays and is one of the biggest holidays for consumer spending.
Not all countries celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May.
In Thailand, Mother's Day is celebrated in August on the birthday of the current queen. In Ethiopia, families gather in the fall for a multiday celebration with music and food to honor motherhood.
