The holiday that celebrates mothers everywhere is possessive: Mother's Day –– don't forget the apostrophe!
It is always celebrated on the second Sunday in May, according to the AP Stylebook.
Encyclopedia Britannica says Mother's Day is a holiday developed during the Middle Ages, when those who had moved away were allowed to visit their home parishes, and their mothers, on Laetare Sunday, or the fourth Sunday of Lent.
Countries around the world celebrate Mother's Day, but it is not always called that. The holiday became known as Mothering Sunday in Britain, for instance, according to Britannica.
Also: Father's Day -- the third Sunday in June
BTW: Did you know the cover of the 2012 Associated Press Stylebook is purple??!! Now, that's a change.
Check it out at the AP Stylebook's Facebook page. They are tweeting that the final proofs have been approved, and the book its making its way to the printer right now. Should be available in late May.
Meanwhile, here's an AP Style guide for a few more terms from its Twitter page:
- mad cow disease (no hyphen in noun form)
- he was a jack-of-all-trades
- the International Olympic Committee was founded in 1894 in Paris
- IRS is acceptable on second reference for Internal Revenue Service (lowercase revenue service)