"Mother's Day" becomes "Mother's Month" Cooperate to avoid "three Cs" and "delivery chaos"

The Japan Flower Promotion Council launched a new campaign, "MAY is MOTHER’s MONTH," on May 1st, starting with the release of a special website. The initiative aims to transform the industry's largest annual event, "Mother's Day," into "Mother's Month" to ensure the safety of consumers, florists, and delivery personnel.

Comprising nine floral industry organizations, the Council had announced on April 24th a request to "extend Mother's Day to Mother's Month this year" in response to the state of emergency declaration due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. Cooperating with the campaign, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Taku Eto mentioned this initiative at his regular press conference that same day, discussing its significance.
The Council decided to implement various measures to further publicize this concept as May began.

A full-page, full-color advertisement was published in the May 1st edition of the Yomiuri Shimbun morning edition (national edition).
Alongside the message encouraging people to express gratitude to their mothers not just on Mother's Day (May 10th) but throughout the entire month of May, it called out to everyone, especially young people unable to return home: "Because we can't meet in person right now. Let's try conveying our words with flowers."

A special website ( https://nippon-fc.jp/hahanotsuki/ ) introduced not only the classic carnation but also many other flowers in season during May. It also proposed new ways to enjoy "Mother's Month," such as giving flowers with the specific "flower language" (meaning) that conveys the message you want to express, through an attempt to translate these traditional meanings into language young people use today. It also offers items for modern communication, such as message cards featuring original "Mother's Month" floral designs, wallpapers for social media, and image data for online meeting backgrounds.

 

The campaign plans to sustain this movement for a month by inviting artists and influencers to participate. At launch, a collaboration with the male duo group "Sukima Switch" was realized.
Since 2018, Sukima Switch has been running an initiative called "Sukima no Hanaya" (Sukima's Flower Shop), based on the concept of delivering "flowers" that add color to the "gaps" (sukima) in daily life.
Sukima Switchi's song "Miraika" is featured in the flower introduction section of the site, accompanied by its flower meaning.
The "Sukima no Hanaya" website ( http://www.office-augusta.com/sukimaswitch/hanaya/at-home/ ) features an original coloring page for "Mother's Month."