May Holidays - Mother's Day, Victoria Day (Canada) and Memorial Day (USA)
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a day set aside for each family to honor its mother, and is observed in different ways all over the world. Historians believe that the ancient Greeks and Romans first celebrated a form of the holiday, which back then was a festival for their respective mother goddesses, but Mother's Day as we know it first started during the Civil War.
In 1858, a young wife named Ann Jarvis began a tradition she called "Mother's Work Days" as a way to force her Union and Confederate neighbors to work together, if only for one day. After Ann died in 1905 her daughter, Anna, continued the holiday in her own way — in 1907, she passed out 500 white carnations at her church (one flower for every mother in the congregation!), and the idea of a holiday celebrating mothers spread throughout the United States.
In 1914, Congress decided that the second Sunday in May would officially be declared Mother's Day and, on May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson made a speech observing the first national Mother's Day, in honor of those mothers who had lost sons at war.
In North America, Mother's Day is a day for families to thank their mother for all of the hard work she does for them. She is encouraged to relax, and might be served breakfast in bed, given gifts (like flowers or a spa treatment), or taken out to a fancy dinner —in 2008, 8% of the U.S.'s jewellery revenue came from Mother's Day alone.
Victoria Day
Queen Victoria's birthday has been celebrated in Canada since the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901).
May 24, Queen Victoria's birthday, was declared a holiday by the Legislature of the Province of Canada in 1845.
After Confederation, the Queen's birthday was celebrated every year on May 24 unless that date was a Sunday, in which case a proclamation was issued providing for the celebration on May 25.
After the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, an Act was passed by the Parliament of Canada establishing a legal holiday on May 24 in each year (or May 25 if May 24 fell on a Sunday) under the name Victoria Day.
The birthday of King Edward VII, who was born on November 9, was by yearly proclamation during his reign (1901-1910) celebrated on Victoria Day.
It was not an innovation to celebrate the birthday of the reigning sovereign on the anniversary of the birth of a predecessor. In Great Britain, the birthdays of George IV (1820-1830) and William IV (1830-1837) were celebrated on June 4, birthday of George III (1760-1820). The birthday of King George V, who reigned from 1910 to 1935, was celebrated on the actual date, June 3 or, when that was a Sunday, by proclamation on June 4.
The one birthday of King Edward VIII, who reigned in 1936, was also celebrated on the actual date, June 23.
King George VI's birthday, which fell on December 14, was officially celebrated in the United Kingdom on a Thursday early in June. Up to 1947 Canada proclaimed the same day but in 1948 and further years settled on the Monday of the week in which the United Kingdom celebration took place. George VI reigned from 1936 to 1952.
The first birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, in 1952, was also celebrated in June.
Meanwhile, Canada continued to observe Victoria Day. An amendment to the Statutes of Canada in 1952 established the celebration of Victoria Day on the Monday preceding May 25.
From 1953 to 1956, the Queen's birthday was celebrated in Canada on Victoria Day, by proclamation of the Governor General, with Her Majesty's approval. In 1957, Victoria Day was permanently appointed as the Queen's birthday in Canada. In the United Kingdom, the Queen's birthday is celebrated in June.
Memorial Day
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day to remember those who have died in U.S. military service. After the Civil war many people in the North and South decorated graves of fallen soldiers with flowers.
In the Spring of 1866, Henry C. Welles, a druggist in the village of Waterloo, NY, suggested that the patriots who had died in the Civil War should be honored by decorating their graves. General John B. Murray, Seneca County Clerk, embraced the idea and a committee was formed to plan a day devoted to honoring the dead. Townspeople made wreaths, crosses and bouquets for each veteran's grave. The village was decorated with flags at half mast. On May 5 of that year, a processional was held to the town's cemeteries, led by veterans. The town observed this day of remembrance on May 5 of the following year as well.
Decoration Day was officially proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan in his General Order No. 11 , and was first observed officially on May 30, 1868. The South refused to acknowledge Decoration Day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World War I. In 1882, the name was changed to Memorial Day, and soldiers who had died in other wars were also honored.
In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday to be held on the last Monday in May. Today, Memorial Day marks the unofficial beginning of the summer season in the United States. It is still a time to remember those who have passed on, whether in war or otherwise. It also is a time for families to get together for picnics, ball games, and other early summer activities.