May 11, 2008
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Profile America Sunday, May 11th. Today is Mothers Day one of the countrys most honored national observances. The idea started in 1908 with Anna Jarvis of West Virginia, honoring her recently departed mother who had hoped that sometime there would be a day to commemorate all mothers. By 1911, every state observed Mothers Day and three years later, Congress made it a national event. There are nearly 83 million mothers across the U.S. Each year, about 4 million women have babies. Of those, teen mothers have 435,000 children, and women 40 and older, 112,000. The odds of a woman delivering twins are one-in-31. More births occur in August than any other month, and Tuesday is the most common birthday. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>.
Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2008, p. 265
U.S. Census Bureau, Facts for Features, CB08-FF.08
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/011633.html