.A Third Of Americans Won’t Celebrate Mother’s Day This Year

Korin Miller Fri, May 7, 2021

Each year, families across the country celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May. And while the day usually inspires people to buy flowers or jewelry and pamper the moms in their lives, not everyone is feeling festive this year, apparently.

According to a new Yahoo and YouGov poll of 1,555 people, 30 percent each of men and women aren’t planning to celebrate Mother’s Day at all in 2021. Meanwhile, slightly more men than women plan to do something — 60 percent of men said they’ll definitely celebrate the holiday, compared to 57 percent of women. A higher number of women also said they weren’t sure if they were going to do something for the holiday—13 percent, as opposed to 10 percent of men.

.Mother’s Day Origin

The Origin of Mother’s Day: 5 Surprising Facts About the Holiday

Good Housekeeping April 13, 2020

These days, Mother's Day is all about greeting cards and flowers — but the history is more complex than you might know.

The Origin of Mother’s Day: 5 Surprising Facts About the Holiday

For many people, Mother’s Day is simply a joyous occasion each May, a time to spend with our children and our mothers — marked by flowers, cards, and maybe some mimosas over brunch. So you might be surprised to learn that its cheerful greeting card messages belie a much darker, more complicated origin story. In fact, Mother’s Day traces its roots back to wartime traumas, and includes plenty of controversy.

Here are five surprising facts you may not have known about Mother’s Day and its complex origins.

.The Lottery of Birth — All the Things You Don’t Control in Life

By Kyle Kowalski

The reality of the lottery of birth (also known as the lottery of life, birth lottery, and/or life lottery) is something we seem to forget over and over again.

We like to think that we are in control of our lives. That we are responsible for our successes and failures. That we can and should take credit or blame. But, as you’ll quickly see here, life isn’t that simple. In fact, there may be far more out of our control than what is actually in our control. Buckle up! Your ego is about to take a humbling ride.

“Birth is life’s first lottery ticket.” — Jeffrey Archer

.7 Momentous Kisses in History

Feb 13, 2020 Becky Little

From Judas to V-J Day to an interracial Star Trek encounter, see what kisses left their mark in history. Despite what the song says, a kiss isn’t always just a kiss. A kiss can be political, whether because it’s the first of its kind or because it’s between two heads of state. A kiss can also become iconic when it’s captured on film, even if the kiss itself was invasive and unwanted.

With that in mind, here’s a list of some of the most memorable kisses in history.

First Recorded Kiss (circa 1500 B.C.)

A scene of the Mahabharata with Gopis, Daughters of the Cowherds, and Krishna.

Scholars debate whether kissing began as a trend that spread around the globe, or sprung up organically in different regions. Whatever the case, the earliest known written mentions of it are in Vedic Sanskrit scriptures circa 1500 B.C., according to research by Vaughn Bryant, an anthropology professor at Texas A&M University. These scriptures, known as the Vedas, were foundational to the religion of Hinduism.

.10 Things You Didn’t Know Happened on Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is filled not only with cards, roses and chocolates but plenty of history as well.

Christopher Klein

1. Captain James Cook Is Killed: 1779

Among Britain’s most accomplished explorers, Cook charted lands from Newfoundland to New Zealand to Alaska. In 1778, on his third voyage to the Pacific Ocean, he became the first European on record to visit the Hawaiian Islands and was received with honors.

He encountered a much different reception, however, when he returned the following year. After one of the crew’s small boats was stolen, the captain decided to retaliate, not by seizing a boat of his own, but by holding Hawaiian King Kalaniopuu hostage instead.

.Valentine’s Day Facts

Updated: Feb 4, 2021 Original: Jan 8, 2019

Learn about St. Valentine's Day origins, how it's celebrated, why we say "wear your heart on your sleeve," and more.

HISTORY.COM EDITORS

Origins to a Bloody Pagan Festival - Letters Addressed to 'Juliet' - Box of Chocolates - First Valentine Was Written From a Prison - ‘Vinegar Valentines’ Discouraged Suitors - ‘Wearing Your Heart on Your Sleeve’ - ‘Sweethearts’ Candies Started Out as Lozenges - Cupid Began as a Greek God - How ‘X’ Came to Mean ‘Kiss’

Valentine’s Day is celebrated every February 14 as couples across the globe honor their spouses, partners and sweethearts. Hundreds of years of traditions and customs have made it into the holiday that we observe today. Here are nine interesting facts about the holiday dedicated to love.

Origins to a Bloody Pagan Festival

Some trace Valentine’s Day origins to a Christian effort to replace a pagan fertility festival that has been dated as far back as the 6th century B.C. During the festival of Lupercalia, Roman priests would sacrifice goats and dogs and use their blood-soaked hides to slap women on the streets, as a fertility blessing. According to legend, women would later put their names in an urn and be selected to be paired with a man for a year.