The tradition of celebrating mothers dates back to ancient Greece. Mother’s Day, and its antecedents, was originally a spring celebration created in honor of the godmother, Rheia. The feast took on a religious hue in England from the 1600s onwards, and by 1872 it had already appeared in the United States.
A woman from Philadelphia, Anna M. Jarvis, spared no time or energy in trying to make a worthy memory of the memory of her prosperous mother. His efforts were crowned with success over the course of a few years, as, through his intercession, President Woodrow Wilson officially declared the second Sunday in May 1914 as Mother's Day.
Jarvis, in vain, achieved his goal, he could not rejoice for really long, as the story took an unexpected turn. According to his plans, Mother’s Day was originally supposed to pay tribute to mothers who were still alive and had already died, but in reality, the holiday was completely commercialized and became one of the biggest sources of income for florists.
Jarvis, who had previously been such an ‘enthusiastic initiator of the day’s birth’, was so frustrated by the events that for the rest of his life, he was repeatedly confronted with justice itself during his protests against Mother’s Day. Moreover, at the end of his life, he regretted his actions and completely distanced himself from events, not wanting his name to ever be associated with Mother’s Day.
Florists and gift vendors really helped to spread the holiday, as it was thanks to their mediation that Mother's Day reached Europe and became incredibly popular throughout the old continent in the blink of an eye.
In most countries, Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday in May, and we in Hungary celebrate it on the first Sunday in May.
Dates of Mother’s Day in the world:
Second sunday of february : Norway3 March : Georgia
8 March : Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kosovo,Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, Vietnam
Fourth sunday in Lent (2021. 14 March) : Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Nigeria, United Kingdom
21 March: Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
25 March : Slovenia
April 7: Armenia
First sunday of May: Angola, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Portugal, Spain
8 May : South Korea
10 May: El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico
Second sunday of May: Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Columbia, Croatia. Cuba, Cyprus, Checz Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Slovakia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Vietnam
14 May: Benin
15 May: Kyrgyzstan
26 May: Poland
27 May: Bolivia
Last sunday of May: Algeria, Cameroon, Dominican Republic, France, Madagascar, Marocco, Niger, Sweden, Tunisia
30 May: Nicaragua
1 June: Mongolia
Second sunday of June: Luxembourg
14 June: Afghanistan
First Monday of July: South Sudan
12 August: Thailand
15 August: Antwerp, Costa Rica
14 October: Belarus
15 October Malawi
20 October: Vietnam
Third sunday of October: Argentina
16 November: North Korea
Last sunday of November: Russia
8 December: Panama
23 December: Indonesia
Mother’s Day is celebrated not only at different times but also in different ways in different countries of the world.
America
America is the birthplace of the idea of Mother’s Day: it was here that they first fought to make this day officially a national holiday - so it’s no coincidence that Americans attach great importance to commemoration. Mother's Day here, as in all Anglo-Saxon areas, falls on the second weekend in May. Today, this holiday is largely materialized in the states: shops are filled with the usual trinkets and gifts weeks before. According to surveys, phone lines are most busy on this day, and restaurants need to book a table weeks in advance, as none of the kids want their mother to work in the kitchen that day.
Australia
Like America, the Mother’s Day celebration also falls on the second Sunday in May. On this day, according to tradition, everyone wears carnations on their clothes: colored carnations symbolize that their mother is still alive, and white carnations pay homage to the deceased parent. Australians pay homage not only to their own mother on this day, but also to their grandmother and the women who cared for them next to their mother. On this day, the child pampers the beloved woman as a sign of his respect: he brings him breakfast to bed, stacks it with gifts and cakes.
India
Although Mother’s Day is a new holiday in India (it has not yet been officially declared a holiday), it can be said that it has become very popular during its short career of barely a decade. This is a big word for a country whose inhabitants adhere to traditional customs and try to avoid the achievements of a modern, globalized world. Being a novel holiday, it has no great tradition: although mothers are now commemorated in the smallest villages - like America - on the second Sunday in May, Delhi has the biggest celebration. At such times, the restaurants offer special offers to their guests and the souvenir shops are also full of little things.
Arabian countries
Thanks to modernization, Mother's Day is becoming an increasingly popular holiday in Arab countries as well. Although in some cultures the person of a woman has been considered inferior to that of men, with the marginalization of religion and gender discrimination, this degraded role is also beginning to change. It is no coincidence that on this day, children not only pay their respects to their mother and other beloved women, but it is also a kind of opportunity to resolve the tensions between mother and child, to improve their relationship. In most countries of the Arab world, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the first day of spring, i.e. March 21st.
Mexico
In Mexico, Mother’s Day is a fixed date: May 10 is celebrated. Like most holidays in the country, Mother’s Day is a colorful cavalcade. The children return home to the family home a day early to prepare for the mothers ’celebration. Children traditionally accumulate gifts for their parents: the little ones make their own homemade gifts, the big ones indulge in purchased souvenirs, and entertain their mothers with songs and poems. A traditional Mexican festive dinner is a corn pie, and “atole,” a corn-based, thick drink. In Mexico, however, it is not just mothers who celebrate this day: it is also an important church event where all believers can lay their mercy on the Virgin Mary. Thus, worship is an integral part of the Latin American mother’s daily program.
Ireland
Like in England, Mother’s Day falls on the fourth Sunday of the Christian fasting month in Ireland. In the island nation, the original tradition of Mother’s Day was fueled by the fact that children from poor villages were sent to work in the cities, and these children were given only one day off a year - then they made a pilgrimage back to their birthplace and greeted their mother with a bouquet of flowers. After the Industrial Revolution, of course, the custom changed, but the gesture is still as strong in Irish culture.
In my country, Hungary, in 1928, a ministerial decree listed Mother's Day as one of the official school celebrations, so Hungarian children greet their mothers and grandmothers with poems and flowers.
When I was 10 I really loved writing poems and at the Mother’s Day celebration at school my teacher allowed me to tell my own poem. It was a huge recognition for me.
At the initiative of the Hungarian Association of Nursing Homes, the Day of Children Raising Without a Mother has been held in Hungary on Monday following Mother's Day since 1990.
Closing Toughts:
Mother’s Day this year was really special to me. Because of the pandemic, I couldn’t meet my mother for months. But our first meeting this year was Mother’s Day and we were very happy to finally be together.
/ images source: Pixabay
