By the President of the United States of America
Each year this Nation designates the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day-a day on which to recognize and honor mothers for the roles they play in our families and society.
In recent years, the shape of family life has been changing. Increasing numbers of mothers have added outside paid employment to their traditional roles, and, similarly, fathers in increasing numbers are sharing home responsibilities with them.
Mothers nourish and support bodies, minds and Souls; encourage good health; nurse illness; overcome discouragement and cheer success. They create and sustain an atmosphere that helps children and families thrive.
Mother's Day gives all of us an opportunity to thank our own mothers for their devotion and to acknowledge that every mother is essential to her family-the social unit on which our society is built.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, do hereby request that Sunday, May 9, 1982, be observed as Mother's Day. I direct government officials to display the flag of the United States on all Federal government buildings, and I urge all citizens to display the flag at their homes and other suitable places on that day.
In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 5th day of April in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty-two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and sixth.
[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 4:33 p.m., April 5, 1982]