Flower shops are misting bouquets and quaint brunch spots are penciling in reservations as District residents scramble to show Mom they care this Sunday.
Sons, daughters and husbands alike will rush out this week, many at the last minute, to find the perfect Mother’s Day gift for a holiday that generates $150 million in revenue for gift cards alone.
“Mother’s Day is just a great chance to show your appreciation of mom and let her know you love her,” Greeting Card Association spokeswoman Barbara Miller said.
But the celebration is not simply the brainchild of a card company. Mother’s Day actually draws its origins from ancient Greek and Roman festivals celebrating each culture’s respective mother of the gods.
More than two millennia later, Anna Jarvis, the daughter of an Appalachian homemaker, led a campaign to establish a national day in the United States to honor mothers. President Woodrow Wilson officially declared the second Sunday in the month of May as national Mother’s Day in 1914.
The holiday is a boon to restaurants such the Chart House in Alexandria, which expects nearly 3,000 diners on what the restaurant manager, Katie Pirner, called “one of our busiest days of the year.”
To accommodate the guests, the restaurant plans to offer its regular brunch menu along with a “Chef’s Feature” menu later that night featuring patron favorites, Pirner said.
National matriarch Martha Washington will greet visitors at Mount Vernon for a day full Mother’s Day activities, which will include offering lavender sashes from Martha’s garden for all moms.
“George Washington’s the father of our nation so we thought it was appropriate for Martha Washington to come out and give some motherly advice,” Mount Vernon spokeswoman Melissa Wood said.
For most District residents, however, celebrations these days tend to include a stop at the post office or retailers who can quickly dispatch gifts outside the metropolitan area.
“It’s a busy holiday for us,” said store manager Lee Herman of Palace Florists in downtown Washington. “But it’s different — nobody’s mom lives in D.C. We send a lot of flowers out of town.”
Those planning to pay tribute to mom have five shopping, mailing and reservation-making days left before the big day.
“Of course I’m waiting until the last second,” said District resident Chad Lenox, 31. “I’vegot to come up with something by Thursday or Friday, though, because I have to mail it to Mom in North Carolina.”
