from a site for ecards, I couldn't resist:

Thank You Mother
Sweet Mother

God Knew Mother

Being My Mother
Worlds Best Mother

Mother like a Rose
Mother Rainbows

Magical Mother Recipe
Mother My Angel By My Side

Mothers Angel Wings
Son to Mother Hugs

Daughter to Mother Hugs
Magical Family Love for Mother

Shelter In Mothers Wings
Mother Bank on Family Love

Shining Light Mother
Thoughtfulness of Mother?

Wise Mothers Eyes
Mothers Bloom

Heart of Gold Mother
Angels all aglow

Mother destined an Angel
When a Mother needs love

Destined a Mother
Mother always there for Me


While Julia Ward Howe's mother's day was a pacifist gesture, and the source of American Mother's Day is Congress 1914 recognition of "the woman's role in the family," the fascist governments of many European countries began the celebration in an attempt to bolster birthrates (after WWI and ramping up to WWII) and emphasize a traditional, home-based role for women who had newly won the vote and tended to vote liberal.

The association of the mother with the cult of the Virgin Mary, especially in Southern France, is particularly ironic.