Just like they have for more than a century, Americans will celebrate their mothers this year on the second Sunday in May.
Mother’s Day, which is recognized on different dates around the world, falls on May 8 in the U.S. this year. The annual tradition of honoring moms officially began when President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation on May 9, 1914, declaring the second Sunday in May “a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.”
Read More: Here’s How 9 Other Countries Celebrate Mother’s Day
The proclamation came after Philadelphia activist Anna Jarvis thought to send 500 carnations to her mother’s West Virginia church in her honor on May 10, 1908, in what is considered the first Mother’s Day celebration.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Introducing the 2025 Closers
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- Trump and Musk Have All of Washington on Edge
- Why, Exactly, Is Alcohol So Bad for You?
- The Motivational Trick That Makes You Exercise Harder
- 11 New Books to Read in February
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Column: Trump’s Trans Military Ban Betrays Our Troops
Contact us at letters@time.com