I've always thought that mother's day is another of those holidays created by greeting card manufacturers and flower growers.

Thanks to Orna for passing along the story of the, somewhat politically radical, origin of the holiday.

http://www.accuracy.org/release/304-the-anti-war-origins-of-mothers-day/...

Each year the president issues a Mother’s Day Proclamation. The original Mother’s Day Proclamation was made in 1870. Written by Julia Ward Howe, perhaps best known today for having written the words to “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” in 1862 when she was an antislavery activist, the original Proclamation was an impassioned call for peace and disarmament. In the years following the Civil War her political activism increased, as did her condemnation of war.

I did not get the chance to visit my mom today, but sadly she's so far down the hole of dementia that to her every day is pretty much the same hell as the last and the next. She's pretty much lost the sense not only of who people are and what year it is but also the fine details of what might make some days different -- holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. -- so visiting her on such special days has become less than a celebratory venture.

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today's photos are some more images of yesterday's Festival of Ideas for the New City.