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Open Your Heart to Mom

Mother's Day Contest in Belgium

By: AN THEUNYNCK | 06-05-2021 | 4 min read
open-your-heart-to-mom-header
Respect, adoration, admiration for mothers exist for a very long time and are also found in many cultures. The Ancient Greeks had already a kind of Mother's Day. They worshiped Rhea, the mother of the gods, and celebrated fertility at the same time. But Mother's Day as we know it today started in the early 20th century in the United States of America.  
Open Your Heart To Mom - Blog on Thursd - Viky Vangampelaere©studiopsg.be
Photo Studio PSG Kurt Dekeyzer Design: Viky Vangampelaere
 

Mother's Day As a National Holiday in America

Anna Jarvis is the founder of the modern Mother's Day. She began collecting medicines and food for mothers in difficult situations in the early 1900s. She followed in the footsteps of her own mom who helped mothers during the American Civil War. Anna’s campaign to make Mother's Day a recognized holiday in the United States began in 1905, the year her mother died. Since 1907 Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May in America. Europe followed a few years later. Schools were asked to raise Mother's Day with the children. And so the tradition of gifts, crafts, and letters for mothers started. Fathers very often expressed their respect for their mother with flowers. This is still a beautiful tradition.    

Mother's Day Abroad

In Argentina, Mother's Day is based on a Christian holiday: the celebration of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This festivity was always celebrated on October 11, until Pope Paul VI moved the day to January 1. By then, the Argentines were so used to an autumn Mother's Day that they left it that way. In France and Monaco, they always celebrate Mother's Day on the last Sunday in May, unless Pentecost falls on that day. In that case, Mother's Day will postpone for a week and the French will spoil their mother on the first Sunday of June. The United Kingdom celebrates Mother's Day on the Fourth Sunday in Lent (14 March 2021). In the United Kingdom, the holiday has its roots in the religious Mothering Sunday celebration and was originally unrelated to the international Mother's Day holiday.    

In Belgium, We Celebrate Mother's Day on Two Different Dates

In Belgium, something special is happening on Mother's Day. Everyone celebrates that day on the second Sunday of May, just like the Netherlands, Germany … and the United States. But in the city of Antwerp, since 1913, they have a second Mother's Day on August 15, the Catholic holiday of the Assumption of Mary. The Belgians owe the fact that they celebrate Mother's Day twice in Antwerp to the Antwerp artist Frans van Kuyck. He wanted to introduce a day that honored the traditional role of the mother in the family, as this came under pressure from modernization.    

Mother's Day and Flowers

Why do we give Mother (or the plus-mama, grandmother, godmother, the caring person) flowers on this day? Flowers are a wonderful way to express emotional messages. What you can't say with words, you can do with flowers. Moreover, flowers make instantly happy. They conjure up a radiant smile. You can choose your mum's favorite flowers, flowers in her favorite colors or especially scented flowers. There is also a wide range of options when it comes to design. Traditionally we opt for a bouquet, but florists can also create something special for Mother's Day: a flower heart, a gift box, a wreath ... The possibilities are endless!

Open Your Heart To Mom

If you make a combination of flowers with a heart shape, you will get a perfect gift for Mother's Day. This seemed to us (Floreview in collaboration with the Royal Union of Florists from Belgium and Smithers-Oasis Benelux), a very nice theme for a competition for florists and floral art students. The theme ‘Open your heart to mother’ inspired 25 passionate flower arrangers to create a flower heart. As a result, you can discover 25 creative, innovative, and original designs.

We Congratulate the Winning Creations:

 

Florists: Gold: Chantal Post

  Open Your Heart To Mom Chantal Post©studiopsg.be - PSG - Blog on Thursd  

Silver: Fred Verhaeghe

  Open Your Heart To Mom Fred Verhaeghe©studiopsg.be - PSG - Blog on Thursd  

Bronze: Katia Gilmet

  Open Your Heart To Mom Katia Gilmet©studiopsg.be - PSG - Blog on Thursd

Students: Gold: Emilie Godenne

  Open Your Heart To Mom Emilie Godenne©studiopsg.be - PSG - Blog on Thursd  

Silver: Lieke Gooie

  Open Your Heart To Mom Lieke Gooie studiopsg.be - PSG - Blog on Thursd   But we would like to congratulate all participants and say a big thank you for their participation. We are convinced that these creations are a wonderful source of inspiration for all florists and we hope that they invite all of us to spoil our mothers with (a) flowers (heart).    
An Theunynck profile picture
An Theunynck

Publishing and flowers, writing and flowers, organizing and flowers, networking and flowers. This has been my daily activity for more than fifteen years now. For more than 12 years I have been editor-in-chief of the inspiration magazine Fleur creative, editor at the German trade magazine Florieren, I have been working at Fleuramour, Green Academy - Florademy (floral school for professionals from 2007-2010), Fleur Talent! / Upcoming Florist ( projects with young florists), the Daniel Ost Academy.

I have a blog and inspirational platform Floreview.com

Flowers! Flowers make life so much more beautiful, so much friendlier, they bring so much atmosphere. I just want everyone to know!

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