Can’t send her real flowers on Mother’s Day? Facebook can help with a purple variety

By Lulu Chang May 12, 2017

facebook tests downvote button 55060497 ml — Nataliya Popova / 123RF

Can’t find a way to send your mom actual flowers on Sunday? Try to do better, but if all else fails, just turn to Facebook. The social media platform won’t let you forget that you’re meant to spend this weekend celebrating the woman who brought you into the world, and its methods involve a veritable panoply of virtual flowers. And they’re not just flower stickers or emoji — no, these flowers move, though not as gracefully as they would if they were, you know, alive and blowing in the wind on that nice picnic you ought to be taking her on. But hey, we’re not here to judge.

In any case, should you choose to go the digital route this Mother’s Day, you’ll be able to take advantage of the platform’s “Thankful” reaction, which basically emphasizes all your feelings of love and gratitude with animated purple flowers. “Thankful” was first rolled out as an experiment last Mother’s Day, and it looks as though people enjoyed them enough for Facebook to give the flowers a reprise.

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Moreover, Facebook is letting you send customizable cards (just like you can during Valentine’s Day), and Facebook-owned Instagram features stickers bearing Mother’s Day themes. And if you’re having trouble thinking of a gift for the woman who gave you everything, consider taking advantage of Facebook’s fundraiser feature, which encourages users to donate to nonprofits on behalf of your mom.

So why all the attention on this day (other than the obvious worship we should always have for our mothers)? As Facebook said in a statement, “In 2016, Mother’s Day drove more posts in one day than any other topic on Facebook with more than 105 million Mother’s Day posts produced.” So yeah, it’s safe to say that this Sunday will be filled with Facebook posts that may melt even the most hardened of hearts.

Mother’s Day features have begun rolling out to some users already, and will become widely available over the weekend.

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