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Google marks Mother's Day with loveable cactus mom doodle

Animated doodle takes us through various stages of motherhood, from pregnancy through to proud mama of grown cacti.

Steven Musil Night Editor / News
Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. He's been hooked on tech since learning BASIC in the late '70s. When not cleaning up after his daughter and son, Steven can be found pedaling around the San Francisco Bay Area. Before joining CNET in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers.
Expertise I have more than 30 years' experience in journalism in the heart of the Silicon Valley.
Steven Musil

Happy Mother's Day!

Google

People can sometimes be prickly, but never Mom, even when she takes the form of a cactus.

She is a source of life, learning and love. That is the message delivered to mothers around the world Sunday by Google, which celebrated the spirit of motherhood with an animated doodle depicting mom as a cactus. The doodle shows our lovable cactus mom through various stages of motherhood, from pregnancy and nurturing her child to creating a safe and happy planter for her grown cacti.

Mother's Day as we know it today was first celebrated in 1908, when Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother, Ann, a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the Civil War. Through Anna Jarvis' efforts to have the day officially recognized as a holiday, President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation six years later designating the second Sunday in May as a national holiday to honor mothers.

Happy Mother's Day to moms of all shapes, sizes and textures.

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