The Mother's Day Quiz

In the U.S., Mother's Day is observed annually on the second Sunday in May.

Anna Jarvis was the founder of the American version of Mother's Day in 1908.

Anna Jarvis, the founder of the Mother's Day in the U.S., eschewed marriage and did not have children.

Anna Jarvis successfully petitioned her church to hold the first Mother's Day service on May 10, 1908.

Carnations are the traditional flower of Mother's Day. Initially, Anna Jarvis selected white carnations for the holiday because they were her mother's favorite flower. Today white carnations are used to honor deceased mothers, while pink or red flowers are given to mothers who are still alive.

According to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the number of children born per mother (total fertility rate) in the U.S. is 2.01. The global average is slightly higher at 2.43 children born per mother.

On May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation designating the second Sunday in May each year as Mother's Day.

Most babies are born in the U.S. on Tuesday. The day of the week with the second highest birth rate is Thursday.

The first two states to observe Mother's Day were Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

August is the month with the highest birth rate in the U.S., followed by July in second place and October in third.

Of all the flowers purchased throughout the year, consumers buy approximately 25 percent on Mother's Day.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. mothers give birth to 3.9 million babies every year.

Anna Jarvis attended the first Mother's Day celebration at Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia. The church was later incorporated into the International Mother's Day Shrine and became a National Historic Landmark in 1992.

More telephone calls are made on Mother's Day than any other day of the year. Calling home to Mom increases U.S. phone traffic by as much as 37 percent.

Anna Jarvis convinced John Wanamaker, a Philadelphia department store owner, to finance the first Mother's Day celebration.

Around 80 million Americans per year take their mothers out to eat on Mother's Day. According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for the industry.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the average age of American women at the time of their first birth is 26.3.

Mothering Sunday was the precursor for the modern Mother's Day in Great Britain. The holiday was observed on the fourth Sunday of Lent until waning in popularity in the early 1900s. Today, Mother's Day in the U.K. is celebrated much like the American holiday.

Julia Ward Howe, suffragette and author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," campaigned for the establishment of Mother's Peace Day in 1873. In the wake of the Civil War, Howe called on all mothers to promote peace and celebrate motherhood.

On Mother's Day, children tie up their mothers until the women pay for their release with candy and treats.

On April 9, 2003, Satyabhama Mahapatra gave birth to her first child at the age of 65.

There are approximately 85.4 million mothers in the United States.

Abigail Adams was married to John Adams, the second president of the United States, and was the mother of John Quincy Adams, the nation's sixth president.

Americans will spend an average of $168.94 on Mom for Mother's Day.

Marie Curie was the first person to be awarded a second Nobel Prize and the only Nobel Prize winner who was also the mother of a Nobel Prize winner.

Americans spend a total of $20 million to celebrate each Mother's Day.

Elephant mothers carry their unborn young for 22 months, the longest gestation of any mammal.

The American opossum has a gestation period of only 12 to 13 days, the shortest of all mammals.

By 1920, Anna Jarvis had become disillusioned by the commercialization of Mother's Day and lobbied to have the holiday repealed. Jarvis spoke out against the exploitation of the holiday by the flower industry.

The Florist's Exchange anonymously paid for the care of Anna Jarvis at the end of her life. Jarvis died in 1948 and was buried next to her mother in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.