Mothers Day dates back to ancient Greeks who held festivities to honor Rhea, the Greeks called her mtoher of the gods. Early Christians celebrate Mother's festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honor Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Later it became a holiday to include all mothers and was called Mothering Sunday.  English colonists settled in America and quit celebrating Mothering Sunday for a time.  In 1872 a day was set aside for mothers dedicated to peace by Julia Ward Lowe and thus began the Mother's Day we know and enjoy celebrating each year. 

In 1907, a schoolteacher in Philadelphia, Anna M. Jarvis, decided to honor her mother and began a movement to set up a national Mother's Day in honor of her mother. She contacted legislators and businessmen to help create this special day for all mothers. The first Mother's Day was held at a church service honoring Anna's mother. As the story goes, Anna handed out her mother's favorite flowers, the white carnations which represent sweetness, purity, and patience. Finally, in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as a national holiday in honor of mothers.

Mother’s Day became popular over time and gift giving increased. All this commercialization of the Mother's day upset Anna as she believed that the true meaning of Mothers Day was being abused for greed and profit.  The second Sunday of May has become one of the top holidays of the year and has spread throughout many countries.

Most mothers’ prefer precious time with their children on Mother’s Day and value a rosebush over an expensive gadget. On Mother’s Day spend time with mom and and plant a new rosebush in her garden, but save the best for last. When the day comes to an end and its time to go home with your family, leave her an extra special gift tucked away for her to enjoy when all is quiet on the home front.  

Mom will appreciate an extra special thank you for all her sacrifices. Mother’s of every age are into high tech these days, it’s the way of the world.  If your mother doesn’t know how to use tech savvy gadgets she is among a growing minority and could be disappointed in a tech-style gift, however, taking the time to show her how it works is a different story. Welcome her to the World Wide Web with a wireless gadget like an iPad2 or a Barnes and Noble Color Reader.

Mother’s of any age will love a new technological gift, it has been proclaimed the year of gadgets from iPads to Cameras and Barnes and Noble Nook Color Readers to the Viper Smart Start app. Here are mother’s day gift gadgets for that extra special thank you. Some tech savvy companies are crooning to ditch the flowers, but one should never ditch an old time tradition, especially flowers they should be used as a complimentary gift. 

In fact mothers love flowers so much they should be treated to a special day out at a public garden show.  Mother's are given free admission on select days to view the flower show.  In addition, if you purchased a camera for her, encourage her to snap photos of her favorites and enter the National Public Gardens Day Photo Contest.  Beginning May 1 and continuing through May 11, 2011, garden visitors in Cincinnati and across the nation are invited to shoot and submit photos capturing the beauty and experience of visiting one of America’s public gardens.  Read the official rules before submitting your digital entry online.