Friday, April 29, 2011

Calling All Mothers: Today Is Your Day to Shine

By Dana Souza
Staff Writer

Mother’s Day sign at Hallmark.
Photo by Dana Souza

It comes around once each year in May, and is celebrated by many. That’s right, Mother’s Day is approaching shortly. This year, the day lands on Sunday, May 8.

Mother's Day began in the United States nearly 150 years ago and is a day to honor and express appreciation for mothers everywhere! It usually falls on the second Sunday in May.
In fact, according to Mothers-day@123Holiday.net, did you know that the second Sunday in May has become the most popular day of the year to dine out? Telephone lines record their highest traffic, as sons and daughters take advantage of this day.
There's no particular way to spend the holiday. However, some families have traditions. For example, some families consider cooking mom her favorite dish, or serving her breakfast in bed.


Heart of Roses.
Photo courtesy of Handmadegreetingcards.com

In my family, we enjoy going to brunch, usually one that offers a buffet. One thing that is crucial for my mother is ham! My mom must have her eggs and ham on Mother's Day!
Tayna Etienne, 20, a first-year Nursing major at HCC, celebrates the holiday with a church tradition.

“It is like a family reunion. All my family goes to the same church and we always go to church on Mother’s Day!” she said. “Mother’s Day is a day to show appreciation and to recognize mothers for all the hard work they do. This year I am going to treat my mother and aunt to get their hair and nails done in Manhattan, and possibly buy them a new outfit.”
Why go all the way to Manhattan for hair and nails? Manhattan is home for Tanya who commutes from Manhattan to Bridgeport every day for work and school.
Some families plan the entire day out with church, activities and traditions. As for others, a lovely card or sweet phone call is just enough.
Carolyna Zarate, General Studies major at HCC, will be calling her mother who lives in Florida, and will most likely send her a card.

A wide variety of Mother’s Day cards to choose from at Hallmark.
Photo by Dana Souza

"My family doesn't have any traditions.  [We] basically treat my mom like a queen and take her out for dinner and shopping," said Zarate. "Last year I took my mom out to lunch, then we got our nails done and at night my brother came down from New Jersey. We [then] had a family dinner in which my brother and I cooked.”
Mother’s Day is extra special to Javon St. Clair, 25, who is also a General Studies major at HCC. “I celebrate Mother’s Day with my mother, grandmother and aunt. Even though my grandmother and aunt didn’t give birth to me, they played just as important of a role as my mother did,” he said.
This year Javon plans to bring his mom to church. “She’ll love that. Last year I invited her to my church, she cried, she really enjoyed it though,” he said. “I plan on surprising my grandmother and aunt with dinner at a restaurant--on me.”
Javon is very passionate about celebrating Mother’s Day. Some people are not too sure what day the holiday falls on, but Javon knew exactly the day.
So what if you haven't gotten your mother a gift yet? No worries! As many of us put things off until the last minute, there are lots of gifts we procrastinators can buy, even up until the actual day!
One of the best things during this holiday are the specials. There are countless amounts of companies discounting and setting special prices for the occasion.
Yankee Candles
Photo by Dana Souza

Yankee Candle has a Mother’s Day sale. It offers a 50 percent discount when you buy any large jar or tumbler candle. Macy’s has Mother’s Day designer fragrance sets on sale, and Edible Arrangements has dozens of assorted fruit-filled arrangements; they offer everything from dipped white or dark chocolate strawberries to arrangements with balloons, teddy bears, and personal notes.
Bobbi Brown, 21, and a Journalism major at HCC, shops at Walmart for her Mother’s Day gifts. “My mother loves flowers and loves the color purple. Walmart always has a flower section with purple flowers and the prices are low.”
If you are looking for the perfect card, personally I feel that being creative and hand making one is the best way to go! However, if you aren’t into that, CVS Pharmacy and Hallmark have a wide variety of amazing heart touching cards and the prices are affordable on any budget.
Hallmark offers many Mother’s Day gifts with great prices. It is the first place on my list when I am shopping for gifts, especially Mother’s Day. They even wrap the gifts and put them in gift boxes for your convenience!

Many restaurants have dining specials as well. Marisa’s Restaurant of Trumbull, Ruby Tuesdays, Outback Steakhouse, and many more, all offer Mother’s Day specials.
According to Mothers-day@123holiday.net, the top ten gifts include flowers, trip to the spa, perfume, jewelry, candles, diamonds, chocolate, gift baskets and gourmet gifts.
It’s never too late to shop for gifts. Most of the Mother’s Day specials and promotions don’t end until the actual day, which is great for last-minute shoppers. As Mother’s Day is only days away, make your mother or loved one know they are special to you. It’s never too late to show appreciation.

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