Dear Mom: Happy Mother’s Day!
Amidst the frenzy of AP testing and final exam review, one day in May is set aside for something entirely different, a day to celebrate and honor one person very special to each of us: our mothers.
Mother’s Day was first designated a national holiday on May 9, 1914, as a day for Americans to honor the mothers of those who died in war.
Since then, it has been celebrated on the second Sunday in May every year, and has become a commercially popular holiday with flowers, jewelry, and greeting card sales.
At Aragon, many students celebrate Mother’s Day by preparing a gift for their mothers, as a sign of thanks for all they have done for them.
Junior Patrick Kerrigan says, “I give my mom breakfast in bed, massage her feet, wash her car, give her a card. To me the most important present that you could give is love.”
“I made her some decoration thing I knew she’d like,” says senior Nathaly Casco. “If I had money, I’d buy her flowers.”
Some students make gifts, while others purchase something for Mother’s Day. Junior Amy Jiang says, “My brother and I went and bought a high quality frying pan for our mom.”
Senior Cynthia Huang recalls one time when she went jewelry shopping with her dad and picked out a pair of earrings as a gift. “That’s all she ever wears now,” she says.
“There was one time I made her a book of reasons of why she’s the best mom. I was like … 12 or something,” says Huang.
“I make my mother breakfast in bed, to the best of my ability,” says freshman Julia Murray. “We go for walks, and do stuff she likes to do, family things together.”
“I usually make my mom breakfast and give her chocolate,” says junior Pritika Natraj.
Not all presents are those that can be bought. “I give my mom flowers, and I give her the best day on earth because I don’t argue with my sisters,” says freshman Jasmine Chen.
One common way that students celebrate the day is by going out for dinner with their families. “Our family goes out to eat somewhere, like the Melting Pot,” says senior Caroline Breaux.
Dinner is a typical tradition both at Aragon and nationwide; according to the National Restaurant Association, Mother’s Day is the most popular day of the year for dining at a restaurant in the United States, with more than six in 10 families opting to do so.
Junior Alex Lew says, “We take her out to dinner and take a picture with my brother and I. We’ve done this every year since I was born.”
While some students have certain traditions related to Mother’s Day, such as preferred places to eat; for others, it may vary year to year. Junior Michelle Pei says, “I buy my mom chocolate, flowers, and we go to Benihana’s to eat.” In contrast, Jiang’s family has dinner “just anywhere,” she says.
People have different methods and degrees to which they celebrate Mother’s Day, from flowers and gifts to meals and favors. But regardless of how it is spent, in the end it exists as a symbolically important holiday, reminding us of the one we have most to thank for being here today.
