APBIL 25, 1912. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



9 



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MOTHERS' DAY i»^ 



5^ AND THE FLORISTS 



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THE DATE. 



Inquiries coming to the office of The 

 K'cvievv, by mail, by telephone, and even 

 one by wire, indicate that there is un- 

 . crtainty in the trade as to the date of 

 :\I others' day. 



It is the second Sunday in May — 

 always. 



That makes the date this year 

 May 12. 



THE STORY OF MOTHERS' DAY. 



It Is Four Years Old. 



Mothers' day broke out sporadically 

 all over the United States in 1908. It 

 took florists by surprise, for none had 

 heard of it before, and many wrote to 

 The Review for information. But the 

 iiuiuiries then received have been as 

 nothing compared to the questions and 

 suggestions that came in following sea- 

 sons, and especially this year, showing 

 how the interest is growing. 



That first year, when The Review 

 undertook to trace the origin of Moth- 

 ers' day and find what it all was about, 

 it ])roved no easy task. The Federa- 

 tion of Women's Clubs, when appealed 

 to at that time, disclaimed responsi- 

 bility, but said, "it's a fine idea." 

 Officials of the Congress of Moth^^s ' 

 replied, ' ' We have no record of Moth- 

 ers ' day, but the idea is good; we shall 

 call attention to it at our next annual 

 meeting." Finally', the search for the 

 founder of the day led, through the city 

 «'ditor of a Chicago dailv, to Miss Anna 

 •hfrvis, 2031 North Twelfth street, Phii- 

 Jidelphia, who confessed to having con- 

 • eived the idea in the desire to com- 

 memorate the anniversary of her moth- 

 i'l's ileath. It was not only the thought 

 of laying some flowers on mother's 

 jiiiive, but it occurred to her that it 

 would be a beautiful tribute to all moth- 

 <'rs, the living as well as the dead, if 

 their children, on a given day, would 

 unite in the simple wearing of white 

 (lowers. She wrote a letter about it to 

 a Philadelphia newspaper early in 1908, 

 and it was this that caused Mothers' 

 <lay to break out in spots all over the 

 <ountry. 



No Special Flower Needed. 



Miss Jarvis suggested the white car- 

 nation as the Mothers' day flower par 

 <'.\eellence. "Its whiteness stands for 

 purity; its form, beauty; its fragrance, 

 love; its wide field of growth, charity; 

 its lasting qualities, faithfulness — all a 

 true mother's attributes," she wrote. 

 Hut the way the sentiment appealed to 

 the people was too strong for the sup- 

 ply of white carnations — there were 

 not enough to go around — and The Re- 

 view suggested that "white flowers be 

 worn for mothers gone before, bright 

 flowers for mothers living. ' ' This does 

 not meet with the approval of Miss 

 •liuvis, who does not like to have her 



ideas tinkered with, but it is the only 

 way that the development of Mothers ' 

 day can be continued. To limit its 

 observance by the supply of white car- 

 nations would be the height of folly. 



Florists Should Help. 



Miss .Tarvis was in Chicago during 

 the winter now ended and had a talk 

 with The Review on the subject of 

 assistance in pushing the day. She is 

 a deeply disappointed lady. To her is 

 due the credit for a bright idea — and in 

 addition to the happy thought she has 

 contributed largely of her time and 

 money — but she complains that her 

 thunder is being stolen by some while 

 others are commercializing the day, 

 making money from her time and ex- 

 ]>enditure, turning a deaf ear to sug 

 gestions of contributions to assist her in 

 further exj)loitation. She said that if 

 funds and assistance were not forth- 



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How Florists Can Help. 



Every florist can, and should, help 

 push along the Mothers ' day observ- 

 ance. It can be done in many ways. 



As a beginning, take space in your 

 best local paper for a Mothers' day 

 advertisement. Advertise strongly; it's 

 planting good seed on welf prepared 

 ground. / 



Enlist the aid of the eilitors; they 

 will help you push the work along. 



Arrange a special Mothers ' day win- 

 dow display; at least put Mothers' day 

 cards, nicely lettered, in your window. 



Talk Mothers' day to your custom- 

 ers. 



Then, too, you can go as far as you 

 like with the Woman 's Club, the 

 churches, the Y. M. C. A. and the fra- 

 ternal societies. The idea appeals to all 

 classes. 



Perhaps you can get the mayor, or 



Mothers' Day Window Decoration by a Virginia Florist. 



coming she would be compelled to cease 

 her effort — but if the florists didn't 

 stop jumping their prices for Mothers' 

 day, she said, she would send out one 

 more recommendation, substituting a 

 button or a ribbon for the flower as the 

 emblem of the day. 



Clearly, the florists have litle pros- 

 pect of further aid in popularizing tbo 

 day — they have got to do it themselves, 

 bv advertising. 



even the governor, to issue a Mothers ' 

 day proclamation; others have, and the 

 motherless daughters of some officials 

 have written letters to the newspapers. 

 Get busy — think up something to help 

 the day along. Don't let the people in 

 your locality overlook the approach of 

 a day that has had more gratuitous ad 

 vertiping than any other flower day ever 

 had; dozens of big publications have 

 lately printed articles that we can nov 

 turn into cash. 



