This Mother's Day, share a heartfelt message with these 30 quotes about mothers

Celebrating mothers and motherhood has been a tradition for centuries, even before Mother's Day was officially created. It dates back to the ancient Greeks and Romans who held festivals for Rhea and Cybele, the mother goddesses, the History Channel reports. Today, the holiday continues to honor mothers and mother figures.

While you might think that you show your mother love for everything she does throughout the year, the second Sunday in May serves as another chance to do so. And how you display your gratitude could vary depending on your love language.

If you're a fan of words of affirmation, here are some quotes to share – or write on a card – this Mother's Day.

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Mother's Day, motherhood quotes

• "I realized when you look at your mother, you are looking at the purest love you will ever know." – Mitch Albom, "For One More Day"

• "Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love." – Stevie Wonder

• "A mother is your first friend, your best friend, your forever friend." – Amit Kalantri, "Wealth of Words"

• "Mother's love is peace. It need not be acquired, it need not be deserved." – Erich Fromm

• "Mother is a verb. It's something you do. Not just who you are." – Cheryl Lacey Donovan, "The Ministry of Motherhood"

• "Acceptance, tolerance, bravery, compassion. These are the things my mom taught me." – Lady Gaga

• "A mother's love is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, it never fails or falters, even though the heart is breaking." – Helen Rice

• "A mother's love is more beautiful than any fresh flower." – Debasish Mridha

• "When your mother asks, 'Do you want a piece of advice?' it's a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway." – Erma Bombeck

• "All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." – President Abraham Lincoln

• "I wondered if my smile was as big as hers. Maybe as big. But not as beautiful." – Benjamin Alire Sáenz, "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe"

• "Sometimes the strength of motherhood is greater than natural laws." – Barbara Kingsolver, "Homeland and Other Stories"

• "A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take." – Gaspard Mermillod

• "I can imagine no heroism greater than motherhood." –  Lance Conrad, "The Price of Creation"

• "To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow." – Maya Angelou

• "A mother's arms are more comforting than anyone else's." – Princess Diana

• "My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind." – Michael Jordan

• "There's no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one." – Jill Churchill

• "Being a mother is an attitude, not a biological relation." – Robert A. Heinlein, "Have Space Suit—Will Travel"

• "Mothers and their children are in a category all their own. There's no bond so strong in the entire world. No love so instantaneous and forgiving." – Gail Tsukiyama, "Dreaming Water"

• "When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. You are connected to your child and to all those who touch your lives. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child." – Sophia Loren

• "Once you’re a mom, you’re always a mom. It’s like riding a bike, you never forget." – Taraji P. Henson

• "The world, we'd discovered, doesn't love you like your family loves you." – Louis Zamperini

• "The woman who is my best friend, my teacher, my everything: Mom." – Sandra Vischer, "Unliving the Dream"

• "Mothers possess a power beyond that of a king on his throne." – Mabel Hale

• "The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation." – James E. Faust

• "But behind all your stories is always your mother's story, because hers is where yours begins." – Mitch Albom, "For One More Day"

• "My mother sacrificed her dreams so I could dream." – Rupi Kaur

• "Mother's arms are made of tenderness, and sweet sleep blesses the child who lies within." – Victor Hugo

• "No language can express the power and beauty and heroism of a mother’s love." – Edwin Hubbel Chapin

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 30 Mother's Day quotes and greetings to celebrate a mom in your life