[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 18 (Monday, May 10, 1999)]
[Pages 803-804]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7194--Mother's Day 1999

May 5, 1999

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    There is nothing more precious than the bond between a mother and 
her child. With unconditional love and infinite patience, our mothers 
nurture us throughout our lives,

[[Page 804]]

helping us to meet life's challenges and achieve our dreams. Mothers--
whether biological or adoptive, foster or stepmothers--are the 
cornerstones of our families, and our families are the foundation of our 
Nation. Mothers are the bridges that link America's best promise to its 
brightest reality.
    The role of women has changed dramatically in the last half-century, 
bringing exciting new opportunities as well as fresh challenges. Today, 
our mothers can be mayors and managers, heads of households and 
homemakers--yet they still make us the center of their lives and the 
focus of their love. Regardless of whether they work inside or outside 
the home, we still turn to our mothers when we need reassurance, advice, 
or comfort. Devotion and love, loyalty and selflessness--these are the 
traits that define motherhood.
    For 85 years, we have reserved the second Sunday in May as a special 
day to honor our mothers for their strength, nobility, and generosity. 
In so many ways, we owe our successes--and those of our Nation--to the 
loving influence of our mothers. Although we can never repay them for 
their gift of life and love, we can honor them in person or cherish 
their beloved memory. The Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 
8, 1914 (38 Stat. 770), has designated the second Sunday in May of each 
year as ``Mother's Day'' and requested the President to call for its 
appropriate observance.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim May 9, 1999, as Mother's Day. I 
urge all Americans to express their love and appreciation for their 
mothers on this day and every day and to observe the day with 
appropriate ceremonies and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of 
May, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-nine, and of 
the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-third.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., May 10, 1999]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register on May 
11.