Mother's
Day is a celebration honoring
the mother of the family, as well as
motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is
celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the
months of March or May. It complements similar celebrations honoring family members,
such as Father's Day, Siblings Day, and Grandparents Day.
The
modern Mother's day began in the United States, at the initiative of Ann Reeves
Jarvis in the early 20th century. This is not (directly) related to the many
traditional celebrations of mothers and motherhood that have existed throughout
the world over thousands of years, such as the Greek cult to Cybele, the Roman festival of Hilaria, or the Christian Mothering Sunday celebration (originally a
commemoration of Mother Church, not motherhood). However, in some
countries, Mother's Day is still synonymous with these older traditions.
The
U.S.-derived modern version of Mother's Day has been criticized for having
become too commercialized. Founder Jarvis herself regretted this
extravagance commercialism and
expressed views on how that were never her intention.
Dates
around the world
While the
United States holiday was adopted by some other countries, existing celebrations,
held on different dates, honouring motherhood have become described as
"Mother's Day", such as Mothering
Sunday in the United Kingdom
or,
in Greece, the Eastern Orthodox celebration of the
presentation of Jesus Christ to the temple (2 February of
Julian Calendar). Both the secular and religious Mother Day are present
in Greece.Mothering
Sunday is often referred to as "Mother's Day" even though it is an
unrelated celebration.
In some
countries, the date adopted is one significant to the majority religion, such
as Virgin Mary Day
in Catholic countries. Other countries selected a date with historical
significance. For example, Bolivia's Mother's Day is the date of a battle in
which women participated. See the "International
history and tradition" section for the complete list.
Some
ex-communist countries, such as Russia,
celebrated International Women's Day instead of
Mother's Day or simply celebrate both holidays, which is the custom in
Ukraine. Kyrgyzstan has recently introduced Mother's Day, but "year on
year [International Women's Day] is certainly increasing in status"
International
history and tradition
In
most countries, Mother's Day is an observance derived from the holiday as it
has evolved in the United States, promoted by
companies who saw benefit in making it popular. As
adopted by other countries and cultures, the holiday has different meanings, is
associated with different events (religious, historical or legendary), and is
celebrated on different dates.
In
some cases, countries already had existing celebrations honoring motherhood,
and their celebrations then adopted several external characteristics from the
US holiday, such as giving carnations and other presents to one's mother.
The
extent of the celebrations varies greatly. In some countries, it is potentially
offensive to one's mother not to mark Mother's Day. In others, it is a
little-known festival celebrated mainly by immigrants, or covered by the media
as a taste of foreign culture.
Religion
In
the Roman Catholic Church, the holiday is
strongly associated with revering the Virgin Mary. In
some Catholic homes, families have a special shrine devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In many Eastern Catholic
and Eastern Orthodox Churches, a special prayer service is held in honor of
the Theotokos Virgin
Mary.
In Islam there is no
concept of Mother's Day, but the Quran teaches that children should give
priority to loving their mother over their father.
In Hindu tradition,
Mother's Day is called "Mata Tirtha Aunshi" or "Mother
Pilgrimage fortnight", and is celebrated in countries with a Hindu
population, especially in Nepal. The holiday is observed on the new moon day in
the month of Baisakh, i.e., April/May. This celebration is based on Hindu
religion and it pre-dates the creation of the US-inspired celebration by at
least a few centuries.
In Buddhism,
the festival of Ullambana is derived from the story
of Maudgalyayana and his mother.
By country
Mother's
day is celebrated in 8 March . The origin of the 8th of March holiday dates
back to 1908 and is associated with a tragic event. A group of workers at a
textile factory in New York strikes against extreme working
conditions. On 8 March, the factory was shut down and the workers remained
trapped inside. Suddenly a fire broke out, where 129 mothers died.
Mother's
Day in most Arab countries is celebrated on 21 March. It was introduced in
Egypt by journalist Mustafa Aminand was first celebrated in 1956. The
practice has since been copied by other Arab countries.
In Argentina,
Mother's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of October. The holiday was
originally celebrated on 11 October, the old liturgical date for the celebration
of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary but
after the Second Vatican Council, which moved the
Virgin Mary festivity to 1 January, the Mother's Day started to be celebrated
the third Sunday of October because of popular tradition.Argentina is
the only country in the world that celebrates Mother's Day on this date.
In Armenia,
Mother's Day is celebrated on 8 March, and on 7 April as Maternity and Beauty Day.
In
Australia, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. The
tradition of giving gifts to mothers on Mother's Day in Australia was started
by Janet Heyden, a resident of Leichhardt, Sydney, in 1924. She began the
tradition during a visit to a patient at the Newington State Home for Women,
where she met many lonely and forgotten mothers. To cheer them up, she rounded
up support from local school children and businesses to donate and bring gifts
to the women. Every year thereafter, Mrs Heyden raised increasing support for
the project from local businesses and even the local Mayor. The day has since
become commercialised.
Belarus
Belarus
celebrates Mother's Day on 14 October. Like other ex-Communist republics,
Belarus used to celebrate only International Women's Day on 8 March. Mother's
Day in Belarus was officially established by the Belarusian government, and it
was celebrated for the first time in 1996. The celebration of the Virgin
Mary (the holiday of Protection of the Holy Mother of God) is celebrated in the
same day.
Bhutan
Mother's
Day in Bhutan is
celebrated on 8 May. It was introduced in Bhutan by the Tourism Council of
Bhutan.
Belgium
In Belgium,
Mother's Day (Moederdag or Moederkesdag in Dutch and Fête
des Mères in French)
is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. In the week before this holiday
children make little presents at primary school, which they give to their
mothers in the early morning of Mother's Day. Typically, the father will
buy croissantsand
other sweet breads and pastries and bring these to the mother while she is
still in bed – the beginning of a day of pampering for the mother. There are
also many people who celebrate Mother's Day on 15 August instead; these are
mostly people around Antwerp, who consider that day (Assumption) the classical Mother's Day and the
observance in May an invention for commercial reasons. It was originally
established on that day as the result of a campaign by Frans Van
Kuyck, a painter and Alderman from Antwerp.
Bolivia
In Bolivia,
Mother's Day is celebrated on 27 May. El Día de la Madre Boliviana was
passed into law on 8 November 1927, during the presidency of Hernando Siles Reyes. The date
commemorates the Battle of La Coronilla,
which took place on 27 May 1812, during the Bolivian War of Independence, in what is
now the city of Cochabamba. In this battle, women fighting for the country's
independence were slaughtered by the Spanish army. It is not a public holiday,
but all schools hold activities and festivities throughout the day.
Brazil
In Brazil,
Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. The first Mother's Day
in Brazil was promoted by Associação Cristã de Moços de Porto Alegre(Young Men's Christian Association of
Porto Alegre) on 12 May 1918. In 1932, then President Getúlio
Vargas made the second Sunday of May the official date for
Mother's Day. In 1947, Archbishop Jaime de Barros Câmara,
Cardinal-Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, decided that this holiday would also be
included in the official calendar of the Catholic Church.
Mother's
Day is not an official holiday (see Public holidays in Brazil), but it is
widely observed and typically involves spending time with and giving gifts to
one's mother. Because of this, it is considered one of the celebrations most
related to consumerism in the country, second only
to Christmas Day as the most commercially
lucrative holiday.
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