Mother's Day and Father's Day exist to honor the hard-working parents among us. They're also a great occasion for fucking up, if you don't watch yourself. Canadian Justice Minister Peter MacKay is learning that the hard way, after sending male and female staffers two vastly different messages about their roles as… » 6/25/14 12:20pm 6/25/14 12:20pm

Shutterfly wasn't the only company to send out Mother's Day emails congratulating non-moms on being moms: Shady Grove Fertility did the same thing, except theirs went to a group of people specifically trying to get pregnant, not people who had already done so. » 5/15/14 2:40pm 5/15/14 2:40pm

Is there such a thing as the Grinch Who Stole Mother's Day? How about the Grinch Who Stole A Woman's Necklace Which Made Her Mom Run After Him on Mother's Day? » 5/12/14 10:30pm 5/12/14 10:30pm

This year marks 100 years since President Woodrow Wilson officially deemed the second Sunday of May to be Mother's Day. And even though Mother's Day is a great occasion (official reminder) to celebrate our moms and the idea of motherhood, the history of the holiday is incredibly sad—an example of standard… » 5/11/14 1:30pm 5/11/14 1:30pm

For these moms, all 100 years or older, motherhood has a lot of meanings. The women talk about everything—from how it felt to find out they were going to be moms to the heartbreak of sending their children off to war. » 5/10/14 4:30pm 5/10/14 4:30pm

A reminder for those of us who don't live close to our mothers and want to send them nice things, Mother's Day is this Sunday. If you are planning on sending your mom, grandmother, aunt or godmother that card, bouquet, or gift certificate to that Paint and Sip class, today is the day to do so in order for it to… » 5/06/14 12:50pm 5/06/14 12:50pm

Just in time to celebrate Mother's Day (if you do celebrate Mother's Day!), this new documentary short Tidal Wave Girls, shows young women and men discussing the women who inspire them and the future of feminism.
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Many "aws" are in order because this is a shameless excuse to listen to the plaintive mewing of momentarily orphaned cheetahs. Just a reminder that babies in the animal world are waaaaay more grateful for their mothers, who somehow manage to keep (most of) their brood from being eaten on a daily basis. » 5/12/13 6:30pm 5/12/13 6:30pm

Fuck, you forgot that it’s Mother’s Day, didn’t you? And now you’re thinking of trying to play it off with a quick phone call and an impromptu recitation of a found poem you’ve cobbled together from an old modernism anthology that you only half-read. Your mom will see right through that, of course, and she’ll be… » 5/12/13 5:00pm 5/12/13 5:00pm

Maybe this brief history of Mother’s Day (which owes itself to the Civil War) will inspire those giftless procrastinators among you to swing by your local grocery store and dig through the discount DVD bin until you (inevitably) find a two-disc combo pack of Gettysburg and Gods and Generals you can give to your mom.… » 5/12/13 3:30pm 5/12/13 3:30pm

A Mother's Day sketch on last night's SNL made excellent use of the excellent Kate McKinnon as the over-sharing, judgmental mother to Kristen Wiig's beleaguered adult daughter. Those of you who were thinking of getting your mom a wilted Teleflora bouquet should really reconsider, and maybe just keep them in your sad… » 5/12/13 12:00pm 5/12/13 12:00pm

Holiday origin stories are fun because of their Crazy Straw timelines. From a one-room school singing that Happy Birthday song that their teacher made up, through the twists and turns of history and economic recessions and cultural shifts, that finally ends at 50 Cent rapping about not giving a fuck if it's not your… » 5/11/13 5:00pm 5/11/13 5:00pm

Most greeting card aisle offerings are geared towards the nuclear family norm. Check out the "Mama's Day Our Way" eCard series, which highlights queer moms, immigrant moms, and other moms that aren't so Hallmark-friendly. » 5/10/13 12:30pm 5/10/13 12:30pm

Great Mother's Day card? Or BEST Mother's Day card? » 5/09/13 11:45pm 5/09/13 11:45pm

Ugh, of course Google went and created the sweetest Mother's Day ad ever. OF COURSE they did because that's what those manipulative jerks do. They go and put together a bunch of sweet footage of babies falling asleep and adult daughters telling their moms that they're going to be grandmas and a mother embracing her… » 5/07/13 3:40pm 5/07/13 3:40pm

There are bad advertising campaigns, and then there are bad advertising campaigns. With “Are You a MILF?” True & Co., the online bra company with the magical algorithm that’s supposed to make in-store bra fitting a thing of our shameful, barbarous past, has probably launched a campaign that’s just a misguided exercise… » 4/30/13 9:15pm 4/30/13 9:15pm

Anna Jarvis founded Mother's Day in 1914 as an effort to honor her mother, who'd founded a Mother's Friendship Day during the Civil War as a way to foster peace. Jarvis had included white carnations in the first unofficial celebration of Mother's Day she'd organized in 1908, and florists, seeing an opportunity for… » 5/13/12 11:15pm 5/13/12 11:15pm