Mother's Day Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===By country=== ====Albania==== In Albania, as in a number of Balkan and Eastern European countries, Mother's Day is celebrated on 8 March, in conjunction with [[International Women's Day]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=When is Mother's Day in Albania? What day is Mother's Day in Albania? |url=https://researchmaniacs.com/Days/MothersDay/When-Is-Mothers-Day-In-Albania.html |access-date=2022-05-07 |website=researchmaniacs.com}}</ref> ====Arab world==== Mother's Day in most Arab countries is celebrated on 21 March. It was introduced in Egypt by journalist [[Mustafa Amin]]<ref name="jehl">{{Cite news|title= Mustafa Amin, Liberal Editor Jailed by Nasser, Dies at 83 |author= Jehl, Douglas |date= 16 April 1997 |work= [[The New York Times]]| url= https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/16/world/mustafa-amin-liberal-editor-jailed-by-nasser-dies-at-83.html?pagewanted=1 | access-date = 10 March 2013}}</ref> and was first celebrated in 1956.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://anydayguide.com/calendar/1673|title=Mother's Day in the Arab World}}</ref> The practice has since been adopted by other Arab countries.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} ====Argentina==== 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 [[Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God|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.<ref name="argentina">{{cite news | author = Padre Fabián Castro | title= El día de la madre en el mundo y en la Argentina |date= 3 October 2010 |publisher= padrefabian.com.ar |language= es|url= http://padrefabian.com.ar/el-dia-de-la-madre-en-el-mundo-y-en-la-argentina/ | access-date = 13 May 2013 | quote= La cuestión tiene que ver con el calendario litúrgico que la Iglesia Católica utilizaba antes de la reforma producto del Concilio Vaticano II. Allí el 11 de octubre era la festividad de la Maternidad de la Virgen María. (Actualmente se celebra el 1 de enero). Con este motivo era costumbre argentina pasar la celebración litúrgica al domingo anterior o siguiente al 11. Con el lento correr de los años la tradición popular fue fijando como el tercer domingo de octubre la celebración de la Madre y las madres.}}</ref> [[Argentina]] is the only country in the world that celebrates Mother's Day on this date.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b4IpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT34 |author=Baby Professor|title=A Special Day for Mommies: Origin of Mother's Day – Holiday Book for Kids|page=34|publisher=Speedy Publishing LLC|isbn=978-1541910553|year=2017|access-date=8 July 2019}}</ref> ====Armenia==== In [[Armenia]], Mother's Day is celebrated on 8 March, and on 7 April as [[Motherhood and Beauty Day|Maternity and Beauty Day]]. ====Australia==== In Australia, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Australia celebrated Mother’s Day for the first time in 1910 with special church services, however, it was not popularly observed until the 1920s.<ref>MOTHERS’ DAY. (1910, June 20). Leader (Orange, NSW : 1899–1945), p. 2. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article252410359</ref><ref>"MOTHERS' DAY." (1910, June 14). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883–1930), p. 5. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article239408160</ref> The tradition of giving gifts on Mother’s Day in Australia started in 1924. Sydney woman Janet Heyden was inspired to collect charitable gifts for lonely, old mothers in Newington hospital who had lost husbands and sons during WW1.<ref>Where Women's Interests Meet (1924, May 1). The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910–1954), p. 13 (FINAL EXTRA). http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223394162</ref> Because it is autumn in Australia for Mother’s Day, and carnations are a spring flower, white chrysanthemums are the traditional Mother’s Day flower in Australia.<ref>Traditional Mother's Day flower in Australia. April 2021. https://www.giftsaustralia.com.au/mothers-day</ref> ====Bangladesh==== There is no historical tradition of celebrating Mother's Day in Bangladesh ([[Bengali language|Bangla]]: মা/আম্মু দিবস, ''Ma/ammu dibosh''), and has become popular in the country due to western influences. It is celebrated on the second Sunday of May and is not a [[Public holidays in Bangladesh|public holiday]]. Mother's Day was not very popular and in recent times it has been spread more widely by the [[Millennials|Millennial]] and [[Generation Z]] communities across the country through [[social media]]. Although many religious families do not celebrate it, it is more widespread than ever before. There is a popular phrase used by many parents, including mothers, which is "Every day is Father's/Mother's Day so you will love your parents every day." Most people just wish or pray for their mother, but many from [[Cities in bangladesh|big cities]] like [[Dhaka]], [[Chittagong]], [[Khulna]], [[Sylhet]], [[Barisal|Barishal]], [[Narayanganj|Narayangonj]], [[Bogra|Bogura]] etc. go to restaurants to celebrate, many also cut cakes. Many others cut cakes at home or [[Online food ordering|order meals online]]. Some children may give small gifts to their mothers. ====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.<ref name="belarusgov">{{citation |title= Support for mothers remains the key priority of Belarus' social policy |date= 14 October 2009 |author= The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus |url= http://www.government.by/en/content/1696 |access-date= 7 June 2013 |archive-date= 30 March 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140330192128/http://www.government.by/en/content/1696 |url-status= dead }}</ref> The celebration of the Virgin Mary (the holiday of Protection of the Holy Mother of God) is celebrated on the same day.<ref>{{citation |title = Belarus celebrates Mother's Day for 15th time. The President congratulated the Belarusian mothers. |work = [[Belteleradio]] |date = 14 October 2010 |url = http://www.tvr.by/eng/society.asp?id=37013 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140929180047/http://www.tvr.by/eng/society.asp?id=37013 |archive-date = 29 September 2014 |df = dmy-all }}</ref> ====Bhutan==== Mother's Day in [[Bhutan]] is celebrated on 8 May. It was introduced in Bhutan by the Tourism Council of Bhutan.<ref>{{citation |title = Bhutan celebrates Mother's Day for 5th time.|work = [[Bhutanbroadcastingserviceradio]] |date = 8 May 2010 |url = http://www.bhutanrebirth.com}}</ref> ====Belgium==== In [[Belgium]], Mother's Day (''Moederdag'' or ''Moederkesdag'' in [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and ''Fête des Mères'' in [[French language|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 [[croissant]]s and 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 of Mary|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blog.europeana.eu/2019/05/from-earth-goddess-festival-to-family-feast-the-roots-and-guises-of-mothers-day/|title=the roots and guises of 'Mother's Day'|last=Taes|first=Sofie|date=11 May 2019|website=[[Europeana]] (CC By-SA)|language=en-GB|access-date=13 May 2019|archive-date=13 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513182154/http://blog.europeana.eu/2019/05/from-earth-goddess-festival-to-family-feast-the-roots-and-guises-of-mothers-day/|url-status=dead}}</ref> ====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.<ref name="bolivia">Sources for Bolivia: * {{Cite web |title= 27 de mayo: madres que inspiran valentía |work= Los Tiempos |language= es |date= 27 May 2009 |url= http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/vida-y-futuro/20090527/27-de-mayo-madres-que-inspiran-valentia_10890_17707.html |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090611082715/http://www.lostiempos.com/diario/actualidad/vida-y-futuro/20090527/27-de-mayo-madres-que-inspiran-valentia_10890_17707.html |archive-date= 11 June 2009 |df= dmy-all }} * {{Citation |title= El Día de la Madre se nutre con la Virgen |work= La Razón (La Paz) |language= es |date= 27 May 2006 |url= http://www.la-razon.com/versiones/20060527_005554/nota_250_291138.htm |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081105112424/http://www.la-razon.com/versiones/20060527_005554/nota_250_291138.htm |archive-date= 5 November 2008 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> ====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.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} 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.<ref name="brazil shopping">{{cite web|title= Dia das Mães: shoppings têm promoções especiais |url=http://www.visaooeste.com.br/cidades/439_dia_das_maes_shoppings_tem_promocoes_especiais.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606231818/http://www.visaooeste.com.br/cidades/439_dia_das_maes_shoppings_tem_promocoes_especiais.html |archive-date=6 June 2012|date=11 May 2012|access-date=13 May 2012}}</ref> ====Canada==== :''See also [[Public holidays in Canada#Other observances|Other observances]] in Canada'' [[File:Mother's Day cake.jpg|thumb|Mother's Day cookie cake]] Mother's Day in Canada is celebrated on the second Sunday in May (it is not a public holiday or bank holiday), and typically involves small celebrations and gift-giving to one's mother, grandmother, or other important female figures in one's family.<ref>{{cite web|first=Katherine|last=Gullion|title=Opinion – Mother's & Father's Day are exclusionary |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/opinion-mothers-day-should-not-be-in-school-1.5126567|date=8 May 2019|website=CBC.ca|access-date=8 July 2019}}</ref> Celebratory practices are very similar to those of other western nations. A Québécois tradition is for Québécois men to offer roses or other flowers to the women.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dadshop.com.au/origins-of-mothers-day#canada|title=Mother's Day Celebrations Around the World|website=DadShop|language=en|access-date=6 March 2022}}</ref> ====China==== Mother's Day is becoming more popular in [[China]]. Carnations are a very popular Mother's Day gift and the most sold flowers in relation to the day.<ref name="china_popular" /> In 1997 Mother's Day was set as the day to help poor mothers and to remind people of the poor mothers in rural areas such as China's western region.<ref name="china_popular">{{Cite news| title = Mother's Day Popular in China |work=People's Daily | date = 14 May 2001 | url = http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200105/14/eng20010514_69871.html }}</ref> In the [[People's Daily]], the Chinese government's official newspaper, an article explained that "despite originating in the United States, people in China accept the holiday without hesitation because it is in line with the country's traditional ethics – respect for the elderly and filial piety towards parents."<ref name="china_popular" /> In recent years, the Communist Party member Li Hanqiu began to advocate for the official adoption of Mother's Day in memory of Meng Mu, the mother of [[Mencius|Mèng Zǐ]]. He formed a non-governmental organization called ''Chinese Mothers' Festival Promotion Society'', with the support of 100 Confucian scholars and lecturers of ethics.<ref name="allchina">{{cite web | title = Researchers and Experts Propose a Chinese Mother's Day | author = people.com.cn, sina.com.cn | date = 17 June 2008 | publisher = [[All-China Women's Federation]] | url = http://www.womenofchina.cn/Issues/OPINION/204586.jsp | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090305045811/http://www.womenofchina.cn/Issues/OPINION/204586.jsp | archive-date = 5 March 2009 | df = dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="china">{{Cite news| title = Do we need our own Mother's Day? |work=China Daily | date = 16 May 2007 | url = http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/ezine/2007-05/16/content_873529.htm}}</ref> Li and the Society want to replace the Western-style gift of carnations with [[lilium|lilies]], which, in ancient times, were planted by Chinese mothers when children left home.<ref name="china" /> Mother's Day remains an unofficial festival, except in a small number of cities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Le |first=Karen |date=2020-05-06 |title=Is There Mother's Day in China? |url=https://www.dumplingconnection.com/articles/do-they-celebrate-mothers-day-in-china/ |access-date=2022-05-07 |website=Dumpling Connection |language=en-US}}</ref> ====Czech Republic==== In the [[Czech Republic]], Mother's Day is celebrated every second Sunday in May. It started in former Czechoslovakia in 1923.<ref name="eastern" /> The promoter of this celebration was [[Alice Masaryková]].<ref name="eastern" /> After World War II communists replaced Mother's Day with International Woman's Day, celebrated on 8 March.<ref name="eastern" /> The former Czechoslovakia celebrated Women's Day until the [[Velvet Revolution]] in 1989.<ref name="eastern" /> After the split of the country in 1993, the [[Czech Republic]] started celebrating Mother's Day again.<ref name="eastern" /> ====Egypt==== Mother's Day in [[Egypt]] is celebrated on 21 March, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. It was introduced in Egypt by journalist [[Mustafa Amin]]<ref name="jehl" /> in his book ''Smiling America'' (1943). The idea was overlooked at the time. Later Amin heard the story of a widowed mother who devoted her whole life to raising her son until he became a doctor. The son then married and left without showing any gratitude to his mother. Hearing this, Amin became motivated to promote "Mother's Day". The idea was first ridiculed by president [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] but he eventually accepted it and Mother's Day was first celebrated on 21 March 1956. The practice has since been copied by other Arab countries.<ref>{{cite web|last=Meky|first=Shounaz|title=How Egypt introduced Mother's Day to the Arab world|date=21 March 2017|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/en/life-style/art-and-culture/2017/03/21/How-Egypt-introduced-Mother-s-Day-to-the-Arab-world.html|website=Al Arabiya|access-date=8 July 2019}}</ref> When Mustafa Amin was arrested and imprisoned, the government changed the name of the holiday from "Mother's Day" to "Family Day", but they reverted the name after Egyptian mothers wrote to complain. Celebrations continued to be held on the same date <ref name="Al Arabiya English 2018 d908">{{cite news|last= Abd El Hamid |first=Ashraf | title=Why the Arab world celebrates Mother’s Day on March 21 | website=Al Arabiya English | date=March 22, 2018 | url=https://english.alarabiya.net/features/2018/03/22/Why-does-the-Arab-world-celebrate-Mother-s-Day-on-March-21- | access-date=April 11, 2024}}</ref> and classic songs celebrating mothers remain famous to this day.<ref name="Dailynewsegypt 2021 p979">{{cite news| title=Egyptian singers celebrate Mother's Day with new songs | website=Dailynewsegypt | date=March 28, 2021 | url=https://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2021/03/28/egyptian-singers-celebrate-mothers-day-with-new-songs/ | access-date=April 11, 2024}}</ref> ==== Ethiopia ==== Mother's Day is celebrated for three days in [[Ethiopia]], after the end of the rainy season. It comes in mid-fall where people enjoy a three-day feast called "Antrosht".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/mothers-day|title=Mother's Day – Holidays |website=History.com|access-date=13 April 2016}}</ref> For the feast, ingredients will be brought by the children for a traditional hash recipe. The ingredients are divided along genders, with girls bringing spices, vegetables, cheese and butter, while the boys bring a lamb or bull. The mother hands out to the family the hash.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://huffingtonpost.com/alemayehu-g-mariam/ethiopia-happy-mothers-da_b_569185.html|title=Happy Mother's Day Birtukan!|website=HuffPost|date=17 May 2010|access-date=13 April 2016}}</ref> A celebration takes place after the meal. The mothers and daughters anoint themselves using butter on their faces and chests. While honoring their family and heroes, men sing songs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mothersdaycentral.com/about-mothersday/history/|title=Mothers Day History ~ The Complete History of Mother's Day|website=Mothers Day Central|access-date=13 April 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203605/http://www.mothersdaycentral.com/about-mothersday/history/|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> ====Estonia==== In [[Estonia]], Mother's Day (''emadepäev'' in [[Estonian language|Estonian]]) is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. It is recognized nationally, but is not a public holiday.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pühade ja tähtpäevade seadus|url=https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/898484|access-date=3 March 2012}}</ref> ====Finland==== In [[Finland]], Mother's Day (''äitienpäivä'' in [[Finnish language|Finnish]]) is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. It is recognized nationally and is a public holiday. It is usually celebrated at homes where children or grandchildren bring Mother´s day cards that they have drawn to their mothers and grandmothers. Usually, some food, coffee and cakes are served for guests. Grown up children visit their parents' homes and bring traditionally Mother´s day roses or other flowers accompanied with a Mother´s day card. The president of Finland honors with medals every year some mothers who have done something exceptional and positive during the year.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.juhlapyhät.fi/aitienpaiva|title=Äitienpäivä 2020 - Juhlapyhät.fi|date=7 February 2011}}</ref> ====France==== In [[France]], amidst alarm at the low birth rate, there were attempts in 1896 and 1904 to create a national celebration honoring the mothers of large families.<ref name="UFE">{{citation |title= Histoire de la fête des mères et celle de "l'Union fraternelle des pères de familles méritants d'Artas" |publisher= Union des Familles en Europe |url= http://www.uniondesfamilles.org/fete-des-meres.htm |access-date= 7 May 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110429110636/http://www.uniondesfamilles.org/fete-des-meres.htm |archive-date= 29 April 2011 |url-status= dead }}</ref> In 1906 ten mothers who had nine children each were given an award recognising "High Maternal Merit" ("Haut mérite maternel").<ref name="Artas">{{citation |title = Artas, berceau de la Fête des mères |publisher= mairie d'Artas |url= http://www.artas-mairie.fr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=71 }}</ref> American World War I soldiers fighting in France popularized the US Mother's Day holiday created by Anna Jarvis. They sent so much mail back to their country for Mother's Day that the [[Union Franco-Américaine]] created a postal card for that purpose.<ref name="UFE" /> In 1918, also inspired by Jarvis, the town of Lyon wanted to celebrate a "journée des Mères", but instead decided to celebrate a "Journée Nationale des Mères de familles nombreuses." The holiday was more inspired by anti-depopulation efforts than by the US holiday, with medals awarded to the mothers of large families.<ref name="UFE" /> The French government made the day official in 1920 as a day for mothers of large families.<ref name="capdevila">Luc Capdevila (CRHISCO – [[University of Rennes 2]]), Fabrice Virgili (IHTP – [[Centre national de la recherche scientifique|CNRS]]), "[http://irice.cnrs.fr/IMG/doc/Guerre_femmes_nation.doc Guerre, femmes et nation en France (1939–1945)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728110925/http://irice.cnrs.fr/IMG/doc/Guerre_femmes_nation.doc |date=28 July 2011 }}", in IRICE.</ref> Since then the French government awards the [[Médaille de la Famille française]] to mothers of large families.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.connexionfrance.com/Mag/French-Facts/France-honours-parents-who-raise-large-families|title=France honours parents who raise large families|date=1 March 2016|newspaper=[[The Connexion]]|access-date=9 July 2019}}</ref> In 1941, by an initiative of [[Philippe Pétain]], the wartime [[Vichy France|Vichy]] government used the celebration in support of their policy to encourage larger families, but all mothers were now honored, even mothers with smaller families.<ref name="capdevila" /> In 1950, after the war, the celebration was reinstated. The law of 24 May 1950 required (in Article 1) that the Republic pay official homage to French Mothers. Article 2 stated it should be celebrated on the last Sunday in May as the "Fête des Mères" (except when Pentecost fell on that day, in which case it was moved to the first Sunday in June). Article 3 stated that all expenditure shall be covered from the budget of the Ministry of Public Health and Population.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000886326| title=Loi no 50-577 du 24 mai 1950 relative à la Fête des mères| trans-title=Law No. 50-577 of 24 May 1950 relating to Mother's Day| access-date=30 December 2017| publisher=[[JORF]]| language=fr}}</ref> During the 1950s, the celebration lost all its patriotic and natalist ideologies, and became heavily commercialized.<ref name="UFE" /> In 1956, the celebration was given a budget and integrated into the new [[Code de l'action Sociale et des familles]]. In 2004 responsibility for the holiday was transferred to the Minister responsible for families.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}} ====Georgia==== [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] celebrates Mother's Day on 3 March. It was declared by the first President of Georgia [[Zviad Gamsakhurdia]] in order to replace the International Women Day, and it was officially approved by the Supreme Council in 1991. Nowadays Georgia celebrates both Mother's Day on 3 March and International Women's Day on 8 March.<ref name="georgia">{{cite web |title= Bidzina Ivanishvili Congratulates Mothers on Mother's Day |date= 3 March 2013 |publisher= News Agency [[InterPressNews]] (IPN) |url= http://www.interpressnews.ge/en/society/45055-bidzina-ivanishvili-congratulates-mothers-on-mothers-day.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200922205908/https://www.interpressnews.ge/en/society/45055-bidzina-ivanishvili-congratulates-mothers-on-mothers-day.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 22 September 2020 }}</ref> ====Germany==== [[File:Herztorte zum Muttertag.jpg|thumb|Mother's Day cake in [[Germany]]]] In the 1920s, [[Germany]] had the lowest birthrate in Europe, and the declining trend was continuing. This was attributed to women's participation in the labor market. At the same time, influential groups in society (politicians of left and right, churchwomen, and feminists) believed that mothers should be honored but could not agree on how to do so. However, all groups strongly agreed on the promotion of the values of motherhood. In 1923, this resulted in the unanimous adoption of ''Muttertag'', the Mother's Day holiday as imported from America.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9SlB2qcb0NIC&pg=PA423|last=Weindling|first=Paul |title=Health, Race & German Politics Between National Unification & Nazism|page=423|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=052142397X|year=1993|access-date=9 July 2019}}</ref> The head of the Association of German Florists cited "the inner conflict of our ''[[Volk]]'' and the loosening of the family" as his reason for introducing the holiday. He expected that the holiday would unite the divided country. In 1925, the Mother's Day Committee joined the task force for the recovery of the ''volk'', and the holiday stopped depending on commercial interests and began emphasizing the need to increase the population in Germany by promoting motherhood.<ref name="mouton" /> The holiday was then seen as a means to encourage women to bear more children, which nationalists saw as a way to rejuvenate the nation. The holiday did not celebrate individual women, but an idealized standard of motherhood. The progressive forces resisted the implementation of the holiday because it was backed by so many conservatives and because they saw it as a way to eliminate the rights of working women. ''[[Die Frau]]'', the newspaper of the Federation of German Women's Associations, refused to recognize the holiday. Many local authorities adopted their own interpretation of the holiday: it would be a day to support economically larger families or single-mother families. The guidelines for the subsidies had [[eugenics]] criteria, but there is no indication that social workers ever implemented them in practice, and subsidies were given preferentially to families in economic need rather than to families with more children or "healthier" children.<ref name="mouton" /> With the Nazi party in power during 1933–1945, the situation changed radically. The promotion of Mother's Day increased in many European countries, including the UK and France. From the position of the German Nazi government, the role of mothers was to give healthy children to the German nation. The Nazi party's intention was to create a pure "Aryan race" according to [[nazi eugenics]]. Among other Mother's Day ideas, the government promoted the death of a mother's sons in battle as the highest embodiment of patriotic motherhood.<ref name="mouton" /><ref name="taylor" /> The Nazis quickly declared Mother's Day an official holiday and put it under the control of the NSV ([[National Socialist People's Welfare Association]]) and the NSF ([[National Socialist Women Organization]]). This created conflicts with other organizations that resented Nazi control of the holiday, including Catholic and Protestant churches and local women's organizations. Local authorities resisted the guidelines from the Nazi government and continued assigning resources to families who were in economic need, much to the dismay of the Nazi officials.<ref name="mouton">{{citation |title= From nurturing the Nation to Purifying the Volk: Weimar and Nazi family policy, 1918–1945 |chapter= From Mother's Day to Forced Sterilization |pages=107–152 |series= Publications of the German Historical Institute |author=Michelle Mouton |edition= illustrated |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year= 2007 |isbn= 978-0-521-86184-7 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YAwuIKyMvSEC }}</ref> <!-- I find the following paragraph on "Mother's Cross" much too elaborate to fit into this article about "Mother's Day". If you agree, please shorten. --> In 1938, the government began issuing an award called [[Cross of Honor of the German Mother|Mother's Cross]] (''Mutterkreuz''), according to categories that depended on the number of children a mother had. The medal was awarded on Mother's Day and also on other holidays due to a large number of recipients. The Cross was an effort to encourage women to have more children, and recipients were required to have at least four.<ref name="mouton" /><ref name="taylor">{{citation | author=Ann Taylor Allen | title= Reviewed work(s): Muttertag und Mutterkreuz: Der Kult um die "Deutsche Mutter" im Nationalsozialismus, by Irmgard Weyrather |location= Frankfurt A.m |journal=[[American Historical Review]] |volume= 100 |issue= 1 |date= February 1995 |pages= 186–187 |doi=10.2307/2168063| jstor= 2168063 }}</ref> ====Hungary==== In [[Hungary]], Mother's Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of May.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-05 |title=The origins and traditions of Mother's Day – Hungarian mothers run the world |url=https://dailynewshungary.com/the-origins-and-traditions-of-mothers-day-hungarian-mothers-run-the-world/ |access-date=2022-07-16 |website=Daily New Hungary |language=en-US}}</ref> It was first celebrated in 1925<ref>{{cite web|first=Gergely |last=Kolba|url=https://dailynewshungary.com/the-origins-and-traditions-of-mothers-day-hungarian-mothers-run-the-world/|title=The origins & traditions of Mother's Day – Hungarian mothers run the world|website=dailynewshungary.com|date=5 May 2019|access-date=9 July 2019}}</ref> by the Hungarian [[Red Cross Youth]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hungarianpod101.com/blog/2019/05/02/mothers-day/ |title=How to Celebrate Mother's Day in Hungary |access-date=July 14, 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717014330/https://www.hungarianpod101.com/blog/2019/05/02/mothers-day/ }}</ref> ====India==== The modern Mother's Day has been assimilated into [[India]]n culture<ref>{{cite web |title= Social change in India discussed |author= TTN |date= 13 March 2004 |url= http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2004-03-13/lucknow/28330092_1_globalisation-tribals-discussion |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121027142535/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2004-03-13/lucknow/28330092_1_globalisation-tribals-discussion |url-status= dead |work= [[The Times of India]] |archive-date= 27 October 2012 }}</ref> and is celebrated every year on the second Sunday of May.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/mothers-day-2019-date-when-is-mothers-day-in-india-2019-5716402/|title=Mother's Day 2019 Date: When is mother's day in India 2019?|date=10 May 2019|website=The Indian Express|language=en-IN|access-date=11 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/parenting/moments/mothers-day-kab-hai-when-is-mothers-day-2019-date-significance-history-and-importance-of-mothers-day/articleshow/69250764.cms|title=When is Mother's Day 2019? Date, Significance, History and Importance of Mother's Day|date=10 May 2019|website=The Times of India|language=en|access-date=11 May 2019}}</ref> Indians do not celebrate the occasion as a religious event; its celebration is mostly restricted to urban areas where the occasion has been largely commercialized.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/why-retailers-love-mothers-so-much/articleshow/69274695.cms|title=Why retailers love mothers so much|last=Doctor|first=Vikram|date=11 May 2019|work=The Economic Times|access-date=11 May 2019}}</ref> ====Indonesia==== [[Indonesia]]n Mother's Day ({{lang-id|Hari Ibu}}) is celebrated nationally on 22 December. The date was made an official holiday by President [[Sukarno]] under Presidential Decree No. 316/1953, on the 25th anniversary of the 1928 Indonesian Women Congress. The day originally sought to celebrate the spirit of Indonesian women and to improve the condition of the nation. Today, the meaning of Mother's Day has changed, and it is celebrated by expressing love and gratitude to mothers. People present gifts to mothers (such as flowers) and hold surprise parties and competitions, which include cooking and [[kebaya]] wearing. People also allow mothers a day off from domestic chores.<ref name="wardhani">{{cite web |title= In observance of Mother's Day |author= Wardhani, Lynda K. |work= [[The Jakarta Post]] |date= 22 December 2010 |url= http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/12/22/in-observance-mother's-day.html }}{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The holiday is celebrated on the anniversary of the opening day of the first Indonesian Women Congress (''Kongres Perempuan Indonesia''), which was held from 22 to 25 December 1928.<ref name="indonesia" /><ref name="bulbeck" /> The Congress took place in a building called Dalem Jayadipuran, which now serves as the office of the Center of History and Traditional Values Preservation (''Balai Pelestarian Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional'') in Brigjen Katamso Street, [[Yogyakarta]]. The Congress was attended by 30 feminist organizations from 12 cities in [[Java]] and [[Sumatra]]. In Indonesia, feminist organizations have existed since 1912, inspired by Indonesian heroines of the 19th century, e.g., [[Kartini]], [[Martha Christina Tiahahu]], [[Cut Nyak Meutia]], [[Maria Walanda Maramis]], [[Dewi Sartika]], [[Nyai Ahmad Dahlan]], [[Rasuna Said]], etc.<ref name="indonesia">{{citation |title= Sejarah Perayaan Nasional Hari Ibu 22 Desembe |author= seenthing |date= 21 December 2010 |url= http://www.shvoong.com/writing-and-speaking/ezines-and-newsletters/2089852-sejarah-perayaan-nasional-hari-ibu/ |access-date= 8 May 2011 |archive-date= 22 December 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151222091608/http://www.shvoong.com/writing-and-speaking/ezines-and-newsletters/2089852-sejarah-perayaan-nasional-hari-ibu/ |url-status= dead }}</ref> The Congress intended to improve women's rights in education and marriage.<ref name="robinson" /> Indonesia also celebrates the [[Kartini Day]] (''Hari Kartini'') on 21 April, in memory of activist [[Raden Ajeng Kartini]]. This is a celebration of the emancipation of women.<ref name="bulbeck">{{cite book | last = Bulbeck | first = Chilla | author-link = Chilla Bulbeck | title = Sex, love and feminism in the Asia Pacific: a cross-cultural study of young people's attitudes | publisher = Routledge | location = London New York | series = ASAA women in Asia | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-0415470063 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=chqofjVED54C&dq=mother's+day+indonesia&pg=PA94 Preview.]</ref> The observance was instituted at the 1938 Indonesian Women Congress.<ref name="robinson">{{citation |title= Gender, Islam and Democracy in Indonesia |series= ASAA women in Asia |author= Kathryn Robinson |publisher= Routledge |year= 2009 |pages= 3, 36, 44, 72 |isbn= 9781134118830 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=V9OBgXw7m1kC&pg=PA36 }}</ref> During President [[Suharto]]'s [[New Order (Indonesia)|New Order]] (1965–1998), government propaganda used Mother's Day and Kartini Day to inculcate into women the idea that they should be docile and stay at home.<ref name="robinson" /> ====Iran==== [[File:Commemorative gold medal issued in the Pahlavi era on the occasion of Mother's Day.jpg|thumb|Commemorative gold medal issued in the [[Pahlavi dynasty|Pahlavi]] era on the occasion of Mother's Day, dated 1975. '''Obv''': Bust of Empress [[Farah Pahlavi]]. '''Rev''': Mother and children standing around a seated Farah Pahlavi, holding open book]] In [[Iran]], Mother's Day is celebrated on 20 [[Jumada al-thani]]. This is the sixth month in the Islamic calendar (a lunar calendar) and every year the holiday falls on a different day of the Gregorian calendar. This is the birthday anniversary of [[Fatimah]], the Islamic prophet [[Muhammad]]'s only daughter according to [[Shia Islam]].<ref name="debano">{{citation |chapter= Singing against Silence: Celebrating Women and Music and the Fourth Jasmine Festival |author= Wendy S. DeBano |title= Music and the Play of Power in the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia |series= Soas Musicology Series |editor= Laudan Nooshin |edition= illustrated |publisher= [[Ashgate Publishing]] |year= 2009 |isbn= 978-0754634577 |page= 234 (footnote 18) |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gAR15vJcC6wC&pg=PA234 |quote= In 2002, Fatemeh's birthday celebration (observed according to the ''hejri'' calendar) fell on Thursday 29 August (20 Jamādi 1423) (...) Fatemeh's birth date is also currently used to mark Mother's Day in Iran, ritually recollecting, emphasising and reinscribing her role as a loyal mother, wife, and daughter. Prior to the revolution, Mother's Day was used to promote the gender ideologies of the Pahlavi regime. }}</ref><ref name="iranpresident">{{cite web| url = http://www.president.ir/en/print.php?ArtID=10405 | title = Ahmadinejad highlights women's significant role in society | date = 24 June 2008 | publisher=Presidency of The Islamic Republic of Iran News Service | access-date =19 July 2008 | quote = (...) the occasion of the Mother's Day marking the birthday anniversary of [[Fatimah|Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra]] (SA), the beloved daughter of Prophet [[Mohammad]]. The day fell on 23 June [2008] |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090516000919/http://www.president.ir/en/print.php?ArtID=10405 |archive-date= 16 May 2009 }}</ref> On this day, banners reading "''Ya Fatemeah'' (O! Fatemeh)" are displayed on "government buildings, private buildings, public streets and car windows."<ref name="debano"/> Mother's Day was originally observed on 16 December but the date was changed after the [[Iranian Revolution]] in 1979. The celebration is both Women's Day (replacing International Women's Day) and Mother's Day.<ref name="debano" /><ref name="haeri1">{{Cite book| chapter= Obedience versus Autonomy: Women and Fundamentalism in Iran and Pakistan |author= Shahla Haeri |title = Fundamentalisms and Society: Reclaiming the Sciences, the Family, and Education |series= The Fundamentalism Project |volume= 2 |editor1=Martin E. Marty |editor2=R. Scott Appleby |editor3=Helen Hardacre |editor4=Everett Mendelsohn |edition= 2 |publisher= University of Chicago Press |year= 1993 |isbn= 978-0226508801 | page= 197 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=FoF5jCEepGkC&pg=PA197 |quote= The more women try to engage the fundamentalists in their own discourse, negotiating and bargaining over their rights (Islamic or otherwise), the more frequently has the Islamic regime emphasized the ideal, the Fatimah model, the quintessential obedient woman. The fundamentalist regime in Iran has yet to resolve its central dilemma regarding the role of women and male-female relationships: should women emulate a Zainab – autonomous and assertive – or a Fatimah – obedient and submissive? Given the logic of an Islamic marriage and the worldview it implies, the fundamentalist regime has shown a marked preference for the latter. Thus Woman's Day and Mother's Day in Iran are celebrated on the occasion of Fatimah's birth. }}</ref> In 1960, the Institute for Women Protection adopted the Western holiday and established it on 25 [[Solar Hijri calendar|Azar]] (16 December), the date the Institute was founded. The Institute's action had the support of Empress [[Farah Pahlavi]], the wife of the last Shah of Persia, who promoted the construction of maternity clinics in remote parts of the country to commemorate the day.<ref name="Sabet">{{citation |title= Conceiving Citizens: Women and the Politics of Motherhood in Iran |author= Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet |edition= illustrated |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 2011 |isbn=978-0195308860 |pages= 201–206 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xbbT0Rsc6EMC&pg=PA202 }}</ref> [[Pahlavi regime]] used the holiday to promote "gender ideologies" of the regime.<ref name="debano"/> The Shah's government honored and gave awards to women who represented the idealized view of the regime, including mothers who had many healthy children.<ref name="Sabet"/> According to Shahla Haeri, the Islamic Republic government has used the holiday to "control and channel women's movements" and to promote role models for the traditional concept of family.<ref name="haeri2">{{citation |chapter= Women, Religion, and Political Agency in Iran |author= Shahla Haeri |title= Contemporary Iran:Economy, Society |editor= Ali Gheissari |edition= illustrated |publisher= Oxford University Press |year= 2009 |isbn= 978-0195378481 |page= 137 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=KTou9VwtQfkC&pg=PA137 |quote= Such [feminist] gatherings would not have been so remarkable had they not happened against the backdrop of the regime's ceaseless effort to discourage, even harass, women activists and their supporters. Within the narrative of Islamization, the state's argument has been, all along, that such gatherings are representative of the culture of imperialism, and hence are subversive and against the public good and the moral order. Above all, the Islamic State has tried hard to co-opt women by appropriating the terminology and language: "protecting women," "respect for women," "gender complementarity." Accordingly, in order to accommodate, and yet control and channel women's movements and activities, the state commemorates the birthday of Fatemeh, the Prophet Muhammad's daughter, as a national woman's/mother's day. }}</ref> Fatimah is seen by these critics as the chosen model of a woman completely dedicated to certain traditionally sanctioned feminine roles.<ref>{{Cite book| chapter-url = http://www.owu.edu/~aamahdi/globalization-final.doc | title = Iran Encountering Globalization: Problems and Prospects | chapter = Iranian Women: Between Islamization and Globalization | author= Mahdi, Ali Akbar | publisher=Ali Mohammadi. London and New York: Routledge/Curzon | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-0-415-30827-4 | quote = This Shia vision of family is based on a nostalgic and idealistic notion of Imam Ali's family in which Fatima Zahra (the Prophet Mohammad's daughter) dedicated herself to both her husband and Islamic cause. Other role models for women often cited by the officials and ideologues of the IRI are Khadijah, the prophet Mohammad's wife, and Zaynab, daughter of the first Shi'i (sic) Imam Ali. In fact, the IRI [Islamic Republic of Iran] replaced the universal Mother's Day with Fatima Zahar's (sic) birthday. |chapter-format=DOC |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060901182436/http://go.owu.edu/~aamahdi/globalization-final.doc |archive-date=1 September 2006 }}</ref> However, supporters of the choice contend that there is much more to her life story than simply such "traditional" roles.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ias.edu/ideas/2016/ansari-shiite-women|title=The Shiite Interpretation of the Status of Women|work=Institute for Advanced Study|access-date=11 October 2017|language=en}}</ref> ====Ireland==== In [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], Mother's Day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of [[Lent]], as in the United Kingdom, and has the same roots in [[Mothering Sunday]]. The practice died out in Ireland around the late 18th century but was revived around the 1950s due to [[Americanisation]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.irishcentral.com/news/how-to-have-an-irish-mothers-day-237641581.html|title=How to have an Irish Mother's Day|date=12 May 2019|website=IrishCentral.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mothers-day.site/when-is-mothers-day/in-ireland.html|title=When is Mother's Day 2020 in Ireland?|website=mothers-day.site}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discoveringireland.com/mothers-day-in-ireland/|title=Mother's Day in Ireland|website=discoveringireland.com}}</ref> ====Israel==== The Jewish population of Israel used to celebrate Mother's Day on [[Shevat]] 30 of the Jewish calendar, which falls between 30 January and 1 March. The celebration was set as the same date that [[Henrietta Szold]] died (13 February 1945). Henrietta had no biological children, but her organization [[Youth Aliyah]] rescued many Jewish children from Nazi Germany and provided for them. She also championed children's rights. Szold is considered the "mother" of all those children, and that is why her annual remembrance day (יום השנה) was set as Mother's Day (יוֹם הָאֵם, yom ha'em). The holiday has evolved over time, becoming a celebration of mutual love inside the family, called Family Day (יוֹם הַמִשְּפָּחָה, yom hamishpacha). This holiday is mainly celebrated in preschools with an activity to which parents are invited. Mother's Day is mainly celebrated by children at kindergartens. There are no longer mutual gifts among members of the family, and there is no longer any commercialization of the celebration. It is not an official holiday.<ref name="israel">Sources for Israel <nowiki>:</nowiki>http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4801172,00.html</ref> ====Italy==== Mother's Day in [[Italy]] was celebrated for the first time on 24 December 1933 as the "Day of the mother and the child" (''Giornata della madre e del fanciullo''). It was instituted by the [[:it:ONMI|Opera nazionale maternità e infanzia]] in order to publicly reward the most prolific Italian women every year.<ref>{{cite book|last1=de Ceglia| first1= F. P. | last2= Dibattista |first2= L.|date=2013|title=Il bello della scienza. Intersezioni tra storia, scienza e arte|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0SCeAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA102| location=Milan|publisher=Angeli|page=102|isbn=978-8856849530|language=it}}</ref> After [[World War II]], Mother's Day was first celebrated on 12 May 1957 in [[Assisi]], at the initiative of Reverend Otello Migliosi, the [[parish priest]] of the [[Tordibetto]] church.<ref>{{citation |title= La Festa DeLLa Mamma |work= Italian America |author= Anonymous |date= 1 April 2010 |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2043375061.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130512211910/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2043375061.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 12 May 2013 |language=it}} (registration required)</ref> This celebration was so popular that in the following year Mother's Day was adopted throughout Italy. On 18 December 1958, a proposal was presented to the [[Senate of the Republic (Italy)|Italian Senate]] to make the holiday official.<ref>Raul Zaccari – together with Senators Bellisario, Baldini, Restagno, Piasenti, Benedetti and Zannini. Senato della Repubblica, [http://www.senato.it/service/PDF/PDFServer/BGT/434379.pdf 78ª Seduta Pubblica], 18 dicembre 1958. "Istituzione de la festa della Mamma." (Annunzio di presentazione di disegni di legge)</ref> ====Japan==== In [[Japan]], {{nihongo|Mother's Day|母の日|Haha no Hi}} was initially commemorated during the [[Shōwa period]] as the birthday of [[Empress Kōjun]] (mother of [[Emperor Akihito]]) on 6 March. This was established in 1931 when the Imperial Women's Union was organized. In 1937, the first meeting of "Praise Mothers" was held on 8 May, and in 1949 Japanese society adopted the second Sunday of May as the official date for Mother's Day in Japan. Today, people typically give their mothers gifts of flowers such as red [[carnation]]s<ref>{{cite web|first=Caroline|last=Bologna|title=Mother's Day Traditions Around The World|website=huffingtonpost.ca|date=9 May 2018|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/mothers-day-traditions-around-the-world_n_5af0ba91e4b041fd2d29c046|access-date=9 July 2019}}</ref> and [[rose]]s. Giving carnations on Mother's Day is the most common in Japan.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} ====Kyrgyzstan==== In [[Kyrgyzstan]], Mother's Day is celebrated on 19 May every year. The holiday was first celebrated in 2012.<ref>{{cite web |title=Президент поздравил кыргызстанцев с Днем матери | author=Светлана Моисеева | work=Вечерный Бишкек | date=17 May 2013 |url=http://www.vb.kg/228435|quote=19 мая народ Кыргызстана отмечает День матери. Эта памятная дата установлена только в прошлом году, но сразу стала для кыргызстанцев одной из любимых.}}</ref> Mothers are also honored on [[International Women's Day]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.internationalwomensday.com/About|title=About International Women's Day|website=International Women's Day|access-date=15 February 2017}}</ref> ====Latvia==== Mother's Day in [[Latvia]] was celebrated for the first time in 1922. Since 1934, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May.<ref>{{cite web |title= Šodien sveicam Māmiņas! |author= Apollo.lv |work= Apollo.lv India |date= 13 May 2012 |url= http://www.apollo.lv/portal/life/articles/274302 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120717190029/http://www.apollo.lv/portal/life/articles/274302 |url-status= dead |archive-date= 17 July 2012 |quote= Mātes dienu Latvijā sāka svinēt 1922. gadā, bet ar 1934. gadu tika noteikts, ka šī diena svinama katra maija otrajā svētdienā līdzīgi kā citās Eiropas valstīs. 1938. gadā pēc prezidenta Kārļa Ulmaņa ierosinājuma Mātes dienu sāka dēvēt par Ģimenes dienu, uzsverot mātes lielo lomu ģimenes pavarda veidošanā un uzturēšanā. }}</ref> After the end of the Soviet [[occupation of Baltic states]] celebration was resumed in 1992.<ref>[http://www.tvnet.lv/sievietem/veseliba/421417-latvija_atzime_mates_dienu Latvijā atzīmē Mātes dienu] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330192933/http://www.tvnet.lv/sievietem/veseliba/421417-latvija_atzime_mates_dienu |date=30 March 2014 }} TVNET</ref> Mothers are also honored on [[International Women's Day]].<ref>{{cite web|title=National Holidays|url=https://www.latvia.eu/history/national-holidays|date=2015|website=Latvia.eu|access-date=9 July 2019|archive-date=4 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190904025833/https://www.latvia.eu/history/national-holidays|url-status=dead}}</ref> ====Lithuania==== Mother's Day in Lithuania was celebrated for the first time in 1928. In Lithuania, Mother's Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of May. ====Malawi==== In [[Malawi]], Mother's Day is a public holiday. The day is observed on 15 October or the following workday. It is celebrated on the UN's World Rural Women's Day. ====Maldives==== In the [[Maldives]], Mother's Day is celebrated on 13 May. The day is celebrated in different ways. Children give gifts and spend time with their mothers. Daughters give their mothers cards and handmade gifts and sons give their mothers gifts and flowers. Maldivians love to celebrate Mother's day, and they have it specially written on their calendar.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} ====Malta==== The first mention of Mother's Day in [[Malta]] occurred during the Radio Children's Programmes run by Frans H. Said in May 1961. Within a few years, Mother's Day became one of the most popular dates in the Maltese calendar. In Malta, this day is commemorated on the second Sunday in May. Mothers are invariably given gifts and invited for lunch, usually at a good quality restaurant.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} ====Mexico==== {{See also|Public holidays in Mexico#Festivities}} In [[Mexico]], the government of [[Álvaro Obregón]] imported the Mother's Day holiday from the US in 1922, and the newspaper ''[[Excélsior]]'' held a massive promotional campaign for the holiday that year.<ref name="newcomer 133">Newcomer, p. 133</ref> The conservative government tried to use the holiday to promote a more conservative role for mothers in families, but that perspective was criticized by the socialists as promoting an unrealistic image of a woman who was not good for much more than breeding.<ref name="newcomer 133"/> In the mid-1930s, the leftist government of [[Lázaro Cárdenas]] promoted the holiday as a "patriotic festival". The Cárdenas government tried to use the holiday as a vehicle for various efforts: to stress the importance of families as the basis for national development; to benefit from the loyalty that Mexicans felt towards their mothers; to introduce new morals to Mexican women; and to reduce the influence that the church and the Catholic right exerted over women.<ref name="sherman"/> The government sponsored the holiday in the schools.<ref name="sherman"/> However, ignoring the strict guidelines from the government, theatre plays were filled with religious icons and themes. Consequently, the "national celebrations" became "religious fiestas" despite the efforts of the government.<ref name="sherman">Sherman, p. 44</ref> Soledad Orozco García, the wife of President [[Manuel Ávila Camacho]], promoted the holiday during the 1940s, resulting in an important state-sponsored celebration.<ref name="newcomer 133–134"/> The 1942 celebration lasted a full week and included an announcement that all women could reclaim their pawned sewing machines from the [[Nacional Monte de Piedad|Monte de Piedad]] at no cost.<ref name="newcomer 133–134">Newcomer, pp. 133–134</ref> Due to Orozco's promotion, the Catholic [[National Synarchist Union]] (UNS) took heed of the holiday around 1941.<ref name="newcomer 134">Newcomer, p. 134</ref> Shop-owner members of the Party of the Mexican Revolution (now the [[Institutional Revolutionary Party]]) observed a custom allowing women from humble classes to pick a free Mother's Day gift from a shop to bring home to their families. The Synarchists worried that this promoted both materialism and the idleness of lower classes, and in turn, reinforced the systemic social problems of the country.<ref name="newcomer 134–135">Newcomer, 134–135</ref> Currently this holiday practice is viewed as very conservative, but the 1940s' UNS saw Mother's Day as part of the larger debate on the modernization that was happening at the time.<ref name="newcomer 135–136"/> This economic modernization was inspired by US models and was sponsored by the state. The fact that the holiday was originally imported from the US was seen as evidence of an attempt at imposing capitalism and materialism in Mexican society.<ref name="newcomer 135–136">Newcomer, 135–136</ref> The UNS and the clergy of the city of [[León, Guanajuato|León]] interpreted the government's actions as an effort to secularize the holiday and to promote a more active role for women in society. They concluded that the government's long-term goal was to cause women to abandon their traditional roles at home in order to spiritually weaken men.<ref name="newcomer 135–136"/> They also saw the holiday as an attempt to secularize the cult to the Virgin Mary, inside a larger effort to dechristianize several holidays. The government sought to counter these claims by organizing widespread masses and asking religious women to assist with the state-sponsored events in order to "depaganize" them.<ref name="newcomer 136–139"/> The clergy preferred to promote 2 July celebration of the Santísima [[Virgen de la Luz]], the patron of [[León, Guanajuato]], in replacement of Mother's Day.<ref name="newcomer 134"/> In 1942, at the same time as Soledad's greatest celebration of Mother's Day, the clergy organized the 210th celebration of the Virgin Mary with a large parade in León.<ref name="newcomer 136–139">Newcomer, 136–139</ref> There is a consensus among scholars that the Mexican government abandoned its revolutionary initiatives during the 1940s, including its efforts to influence Mother's Day.<ref name="newcomer 134"/> Today the "Día de las Madres" is an unofficial holiday in Mexico held each year on 10 May,<ref name="legacy">[http://legacyproject.org/guides/mdhistory.html The History of Mother's Day] from The Legacy Project, a Legacy Center (Canada) website</ref> the day on which it was first celebrated in Mexico.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.latintimes.com/mothers-day-2016-date-when-dia-de-la-madre-mexico-other-latin-american-countries-384106|title=When Is Mother's Day Celebrated In Mexico?|date=7 May 2016|access-date=28 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011203707/http://www.latintimes.com/mothers-day-2016-date-when-dia-de-la-madre-mexico-other-latin-american-countries-384106|archive-date=11 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In Mexico, to show affection and appreciation to the mother, it is traditional to start the celebration with the famous song "Las Mañanitas", either a cappella, with the help of a mariachi or a contracted trio. Families usually gather to celebrate, trying to spend as much time as possible with mothers to honor them. They bring some dishes and eat together or visit a restaurant.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LHnp3mJQq1YC&pg=PA68|last=Thompson|publisher=[[Ten Speed Press|Celestial Arts]]|isbn=978-1587611148|first=Jennifer Trainer|title=The Joy of Family Traditions: A Season-by-Season Companion to Celebrations, Holidays, & Special Occasions|year=2008|access-date=10 July 2019}}</ref> ====Myanmar==== In Myanmar, Mothers' Day (the plural form of mother is used as an official title<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/burmese/burma/2011/01/110119_mothers_day|title=မြန်မာနိုင်ငံမှာ အမေများနေ့ ကျင်းပ |last=ဘီဘီစီ |website= BBC Myanmar|date=18 January 2011|access-date=19 May 2020 |language=my |trans-title=Mothers' day is held in Myanmar.}}</ref>) is celebrated on the full moon day of [[Pyatho]], the tenth month of the Myanmar calendar, which usually falls in January.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://yangonlife.com.mm/en/article/myanmar-mothers-day-review|title=Myanmar Mother's Day Review|last=Yee Mon|date=27 January 2016|website=Yangon Life|access-date=18 May 2020|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804021430/https://yangonlife.com.mm/en/article/myanmar-mothers-day-review|url-status=dead}}</ref> At the proposal and initiative of [[Thukha|U Thukha]], who put a lot of effort into founding this day, it was first celebrated in [[Mandalay]] on the full moon day of Pyatho in 1995, but it was officially added to the Myanmar calendar in 1997, two years after its first celebration.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://uzo.sakura.ne.jp/burma/nlm/nlm_data/nlm_2000/nlm_10_2000/N001027.htm|title=Yangon University confers Doctor of Letters on Reactor Sayadaw of International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University, Sayagyi U Thukha|last=The New Light of Myanmar|date=5 January 2019|access-date=18 May 2020|quote=Because of his organization, the Fullmoon Day of Pyatho has been observed as Mothers" Day since 1997.}}</ref> People who are away from home, send postcards or phone their mothers to express love and gratitude and those who live with their mother, give her personal service, like bathing or shampooing, and usually take her to pagodas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mdn.gov.mm/my/paasiulpnny-amemaane|title=ပြာသိုလပြည့် အမေများနေ့|last=မုဒိတာ (တောင်သာ)|date=5 January 2019|website=Myanmar Digital News|access-date=18 May 2020|trans-title=Mothers' day, the full moon of Pyatho.|archive-date=5 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805084456/https://www.mdn.gov.mm/my/paasiulpnny-amemaane|url-status=dead}}</ref> ====Nepal==== In [[Nepal]], there is a festival equivalent to Mother's Day, called Mata Tirtha Aunsi ("Mother Pilgrimage New Moon"), or Mata Tirtha [[Puja (Buddhism)|Puja]] ("Mother Pilgrimage Worship"). It is celebrated according to the lunar calendar. It falls on the last day of the dark fortnight in the month of [[Baishakh (Nepali calendar)|Baishakh]] which falls in April–May (in 2015, it will occur on 18 April). The dark fortnight lasts for 15 days from the full moon to the new moon. This festival is observed to commemorate and honor mothers, and it is celebrated by giving gifts to mothers and remembering mothers who are no more.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} To honor mothers who have died, it is the tradition to go on a pilgrimage to the Mata Tirtha ponds, located 6 km to the southwest of downtown [[Kathmandu]]. The nearby [[Mata Tirtha]] village is named after these ponds. Previously, the tradition was observed primarily by the [[Newar]] community and other people living in the [[Kathmandu Valley]]. Now this festival is widely celebrated across the country.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} Many tragic [[folklore]] legends have been created, suggesting different reasons why this pond became a pilgrimage site. The most popular version says that, in ancient times, the mother of a shepherd died, and he made offerings to a nearby pond. There he saw the face of his mother in the water, with her hand taking the offerings. Since then, many people have visited the pond, hoping to see their deceased mother's face. Pilgrims believe that they will bring peace to their mothers' souls by visiting the sacred place. There are two ponds. The larger one is for ritual bathing. The smaller one is used to "look upon mother's face", and is fenced by iron bars to prevent people from bathing in it.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} Traditionally, in the Kathmandu valley the South-Western corner is reserved for women and women-related rituals, and the North-Eastern is for men and men-related rituals. The worship place for Mata Tirtha Aunsi is located in Mata Tirtha in the South-Western half of the valley, while the worship place for [[Gokarna Aunsi]], the equivalent celebration for deceased fathers is located in [[Gokarna, Nepal]], in the North-Eastern half. This division is reflected in many aspects of the life in Kathmandu valley.<ref name="HeestermanHoek1992">{{cite book|author1=J. C. Heesterman|author2=Albert W. Van den Hoek|author3=Dirk H. A. Kolff |author3-link=Dirk H. A. Kolff |author4=Marianne S. Oort|title=Ritual, State, and History in South Asia: Essays in Honour of J.C. Heesterman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EtwtSZwyWpgC&pg=PA786|year=1992|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-09467-3|page=786}}</ref> Mother's Day is known as Aama ko Mukh Herne Din in [[Nepali language|Nepali]], which literally means "day to see mother's face". In [[Nepal Bhasa]], the festival is known as Mām yā Khwā Swayegu, which can be translated as "to look upon mother's face".{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} ====Netherlands==== In the [[Netherlands]], Mother's Day was introduced as early as 1910 by the Dutch branch of the [[Salvation Army]].<ref>{{harvnb|Helsloot|2007|p=206}}</ref> The Royal Dutch Society for Horticulture and Botany, a group protecting the interest of Dutch florists, worked to promote the holiday; they hoped to emulate the commercial success achieved by American florists.<ref name="helsloot 208">{{harvnb|Helsloot|2007|p=208}}</ref> They were imitating the campaign already underway by florists in Germany and Austria, but they were aware that the traditions had originated in the US.<ref name="helsloot 208"/> Florists launched a major promotional effort in 1925. This included the publication of a book of articles written by famous intellectuals, radio broadcasts, newspapers ads, and the collaboration of priests and teachers who wanted to promote the celebration for their own reasons.<ref name="helsloot 208"/> In 1931 the second Sunday of May was adopted as the official celebration date. In the mid-1930s the slogan ''Moederdag – Bloemendag'' (Mother's Day – Flowers' Day) was coined, and the phrase was popular for many years.<ref name="helsloot 209">{{harvnb|Helsloot|2007|p=209}}</ref> In the 1930s and 1940s "Mother's Day cakes" were given as gifts in hospitals and to the [[Monarchy of the Netherlands|Dutch Queen]], who is known as the "mother of the country".<ref name="helsloot 209"/> Other trade groups tried to cash in on the holiday and to give new meaning to the holiday in order to promote their own wares as gifts.<ref name="helsloot 209"/> Roman Catholic priests complained that the holiday interfered with the honoring of the Virgin Mary, the divine mother, which took place during the whole month of May. In 1926 Mother's Day was celebrated on 7 July in order to address these complaints.<ref name="helsloot 210">{{harvnb|Helsloot|2007|p=210}}</ref> Catholic organizations and priests tried to Christianize the holiday, but those attempts were rendered futile around the 1960s when the church lost influence and the holiday was completely secularized.<ref name="helsloot 210"/> In later years, the initial resistance disappeared, and even leftist newspapers stopped their criticism and endorsed Mother's Day.<ref name="helsloot 213">{{harvnb|Helsloot|2007|p=213}}</ref> In the 1980s, the American origin of the holiday was still not widely known, so feminist groups who opposed the perpetuation of gender roles sometimes claimed that Mother's Day was invented by Nazis and celebrated on the birthday of [[Klara Hitler]], Hitler's mother.<ref name="helsloot 211">{{harvnb|Helsloot|2007|p=211}}</ref> ====New Zealand==== In [[New Zealand]], Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day is not a public holiday. The New Zealand tradition is to send or give cards and gifts and at-home youngsters to attempt to serve mothers a variation on breakfast in bed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/life-style/tempo/407983/The-history-of-mothers-day|title = The history of mother's day|date = 31 January 2009}}</ref> ====Nicaragua==== In [[Nicaragua]], the ''Día de la Madre'' has been celebrated on 30 May since the early 1940s. The date was chosen by President [[Anastasio Somoza García]] because it was the birthday of Casimira Sacasa, his wife's mother.<ref name=nicaragua>{{citation |title=El origen del Día de la Madre |author=Lic. Pedro Rafael Díaz Figueroa |work=[[El Nuevo Diario]] |date=27 May 1999 |url=http://archivo.elnuevodiario.com.ni/1999/mayo/27-mayo-1999/opinion/opinion6.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100514093352/http://archivo.elnuevodiario.com.ni/1999/mayo/27-mayo-1999/opinion/opinion6.html |archive-date=14 May 2010 }}</ref> ====North Korea==== Mother's Day is celebrated on 16 November as a [[List of public holidays in North Korea|public holiday in North Korea]]. The date takes its significance from the First National Meeting of Mothers held in 1961, for which [[Kim Il Sung]], the [[Leader of North Korea|leader of the country]], published a work called ''The Duty of Mothers in the Education of Children''. The date was designated as Mother's Day in May 2012 by the [[Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly]] but only became a public holiday and appeared on the [[North Korean calendar]] starting in 2015.<ref name="LeeSangYong2014">{{cite web|author=Lee Sang Yong|date=16 December 2014|title=North Korea's Official 2015 Calendar Revealed|url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?num=12682&cataId=nk01700|work=Daily NK|access-date=13 January 2017}}</ref> ====Norway==== Mother's Day was first celebrated on 9 February 1919 and was initially organized by religious institutions. Later it has become a family day, and the mother is often treated to breakfast in bed, flowers and cake.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mother's Day in Norway|url=http://blogs.transparent.com/norwegian/mothers-day-in-norway/|access-date=26 May 2015|date=11 May 2010}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=May 2015}} It has gradually become a major commercial event, with special pastries, flowers and other presents offered by retailers. Day-cares and primary schools often encourage children to make cards and other gifts.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} ====Pakistan==== In [[Pakistan]], Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. Media channels celebrate with special shows. Individuals honor their mothers by giving gifts and commemorative articles. Individuals who have lost their mothers pray and pay their respects to their loved ones lost. Schools hold special programs in order to acknowledge the efforts of their mothers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://arynews.tv/en/mothers-day-being-observed-today/|title=World marks Mother's Day with Utmost Love, Respect|access-date=12 June 2017|newspaper=ARY News|date=17 May 2016}}</ref> ====Panama==== In [[Panama]], Mother's Day is celebrated on 8 December, the same day as the [[Feast of the Immaculate Conception]]. This date was suggested in 1930 by the wife of Panama's President [[Florencio Harmodio Arosemena]]. 8 December was adopted as Mother's Day under Law 69, which was passed the same year.<ref name=panama>{{citation |work= [[Crítica]] |title= Bendita Madre |author= editorial |language= es |date= 8 December 2001 |url= http://www.critica.com.pa/archivo/12082001/opinion.html |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110927162051/http://www.critica.com.pa/archivo/12082001/opinion.html |archive-date= 27 September 2011 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> According to another account, in 1924 the [[Rotary Club]] of Panama asked that Mother's Day be celebrated on 11 May. Politician Aníbal D. Ríos changed the proposal so that the celebration would be held on 8 December. He then established Mother's Day as a national holiday on that date.<ref>{{citation |title= Origins. La celebración del Día de la Madre |author= Penny de Henríquez |date= 9 December 2005 |language= es |work= [[La Prensa (Panama City)|La Prensa]] |url= http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2005/12/09/hoy/opinion/427577.html |access-date= 4 March 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110505063609/http://mensual.prensa.com/mensual/contenido/2005/12/09/hoy/opinion/427577.html |archive-date= 5 May 2011 |url-status= dead }}</ref> ====Paraguay==== In [[Paraguay]], Mother's Day is celebrated on 15 May, the same day as the ''Dia de la Patria'', which celebrates the [[History of Paraguay#Independence of 1811|independence of Paraguay]].<ref name=paraguay1/> This date was chosen to honor the role played by Juana María de Lara in the events of 14 May 1811 that led to Paraguay's independence.<ref>{{citation|title=Session of the Honorable Cámara de Senadores. Señor Senador Diego Abente Brun|page=25|url=http://www.congreso.gov.py/senadores/archivos/diarios/341S-13.doc|language=es}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 2008, the Paraguayan Minister of Culture, Bruno Barrios, lamented this coincidence because, in Paraguay, Mother's Day is much more popular than independence day and the independence celebration goes unnoticed. As a result, Barrios asked that the celebration be moved to the end of the month.<ref name=paraguay2/> A group of young people attempted to gather 20,000 signatures to ask the Parliament to move Mother's Day.<ref name=paraguay2>{{citation|title=Buscan que se cambie fecha del día de la madre|date=14 May 2008|work=Radio Viva 90.1 FM Paraguay|url=http://www.radioviva.com.py/articulo.php?ID=2478}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 2008, the ''Comisión de festejos'' (Celebration Committee) of the city of [[Asunción]] asked that Mother's Day be moved to the second Sunday of May.<ref>{{citation|date=27 July 2008|title=Hoy miércoles 27 de agosto se inician las acciones de la Comisión de Festejos por el Bicentenario, con una retreta en la Plaza de los Héroes|author=Municipality of [[Asuncion]]|url=http://www.mca.gov.py/noticias/270808_2.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510082053/http://www.mca.gov.py/noticias/270808_2.htm|archive-date=10 May 2009}}</ref> ====Philippines==== In the [[Philippines]], Mother's Day is officially celebrated on the second Sunday of May, but it is not a public holiday.<ref name=proclamation1998>{{cite news | url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1998/12/11/proclamation-no-58-s-1998/ | title=Proclamation No. 58, s. 1998 | newspaper=[[Official Gazette (Philippines)|Official Gazette]] | date=11 December 1998 | access-date=1 December 2014 | archive-date=23 June 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623101315/http://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1998/12/11/proclamation-no-58-s-1998/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> Although not a traditional Filipino holiday, the occasion owes its popularity to [[American Colonial Period (Philippines)|American Colonial Period]] influence. According to a 2008 article by the [[Philippine News Agency]], in 1921 the [[Ilocos Norte]] Federation of Women's Clubs asked to declare the first Monday of December as Mother's Day "to honor these fabulous women who brought forth God's children into this world." In response, [[Governor-General of the Philippines|Governor-General]] [[Charles Yeater]] issued Circular No. 33 declaring the celebration. In 1937 [[President of the Philippines|President]] [[Manuel L. Quezon]] issued Presidential Proclamation No. 213, changing the name of the occasion from "Mother's Day" to "Parent's Day" to address the complaints that there wasn't a "Father's Day". In 1980 President [[Ferdinand Marcos]] issued Presidential Proclamation No. 2037 proclaiming the date as both Mother's Day and Father's Day. In 1988 President [[Corazon Aquino]] issued Presidential Proclamation No. 266, changing Mother's Day to the second Sunday of May, and Father's Day to the third Sunday of June, discontinuing the traditional date.<ref>{{cite web |title= The First Monday of December is Mother's Day and Father's Day |date= 1 December 2014 |author= Content Manager 03 |publisher= [[Malacañan Palace]] (official residence of the [[President of the Philippines]]) |url= http://malacanang.gov.ph/74663-the-first-monday-of-december-is-mothers-day-and-fathers-day/ |access-date= 3 December 2014 |archive-date= 8 December 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141208012108/http://malacanang.gov.ph/74663-the-first-monday-of-december-is-mothers-day-and-fathers-day/ |url-status= dead }}</ref> In 1998 President [[Joseph Estrada]] returned both celebrations to the first Monday of December.<ref name=proclamation1998/> ====Portugal==== In [[Portugal]], the "Dia da Mãe" ("Mother's Day") is an unofficial holiday held each year on the first Sunday of May (sometimes coinciding with [[May Day#Portugal|Labour Day]]). In the weeks leading up to this Sunday, school children spend a few hours a day preparing a gift for their mothers, aided by their school teachers. In general, mothers receive gifts from their family members and this day is meant to be celebrated with the whole family. It used to be celebrated on 8 December, the same date as the Conception of the Virgin celebration.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} ====Romania==== In [[Romania]], Mother's Day has been celebrated on the first Sunday of May since 2010. Law 319/2009 made both Mother's Day and Father's Day official holidays in Romania. The measure was passed thanks to campaign efforts from the Alliance Fighting Discrimination Against Fathers (TATA).<ref name="romania">{{cite news|title=Romania Celebrates Fathers' Day On Second Sunday Of May|url=http://www.mediafax.ro/english/romania-celebrates-fathers-day-on-second-sunday-of-may-6088334|access-date=8 May 2016|work=[[Mediafax]]|date=4 May 2010|location=Bucharest|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129091127/http://www.mediafax.ro/english/romania-celebrates-fathers-day-on-second-sunday-of-may-6088334|archive-date=29 November 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Previously, Mother's Day was celebrated on 8 March, as part of [[International Women's Day]] (a tradition dating back to when Romania was part of the [[Eastern bloc]]). Today, Mother's Day and International Women's Day are two separate holidays, with International Women's Day being held on its original date of 8 March.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} ====Russia==== {{main|International Women's Day}} Traditionally [[Russia]] had celebrated International Women's Day and Mother's Day on 8 March, an inheritance from the [[Soviet Union]], and a public holiday.<ref>{{cite news | author = Постановление ЦК ВКП(б). | script-title = ru:К советским женщинам, обращение ЦК КПСС в связи с Международным днём 8 Марта. | newspaper = Советское искусство | date = 8 March 1966 | pages = 4 | url = http://www.oldgazette.ru/siskusstvo/08031945/index1.html | access-date = 22 March 2013 | format = DjVu | language = ru | archive-date = 29 November 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021914/http://www.oldgazette.ru/siskusstvo/08031945/index1.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> Women's Day was first celebrated on the last Sunday in February in 1913 in Russia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.internationalwomensday.com/About|title=About International Women's Day|website=International Women's Day|access-date=8 November 2016}}</ref> In 1917, demonstrations marking International Women's Day in [[Saint Petersburg]] on the last Sunday in February (which fell on 8 March on the [[Gregorian calendar]]) initiated the [[February Revolution]]. Following the [[October Revolution]] later that year, the [[Bolshevik]] [[Alexandra Kollontai]] persuaded [[Vladimir Lenin]] to make it an official holiday in the Soviet Union, and it was established, but was a working day until 1965.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} On 8 May 1965, by the decree of the [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]], International Women's Day was declared a non-working day in the Soviet Union "in commemoration of the outstanding merits of Soviet women in communistic construction, in the defense of their [[Fatherland]] during the [[Great Patriotic War (term)|Great Patriotic War]], in their heroism and selflessness at the front and in the rear, and also marking the great contribution of women to strengthening friendship between peoples, and the struggle for peace. But still, women's day must be celebrated as are other holidays."<ref>{{cite encyclopedia| last =Балаховская| first =Л. Г.| editor-last =Введенский| editor-first =Борис| script-title =ru:Международный женский день 8 марта.| encyclopedia ="Большая советская энциклопедия" (БСЭ)| publisher =Советская энциклопедия| location =Москва| year =1969–1978| url =http://slovari.yandex.ru/8%20%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82%D0%B0/%D0%91%D0%A1%D0%AD/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%B6%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9%20%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9%20%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8C%208%20%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82%D0%B0/| archive-url =https://archive.today/20120720071049/http://slovari.yandex.ru/8%20%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82%D0%B0/%D0%91%D0%A1%D0%AD/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%B6%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9%20%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9%20%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8C%208%20%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82%D0%B0/| url-status =dead| archive-date =20 July 2012| language =ru}}</ref> ====Samoa==== In [[Samoa]], Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May, and as a recognised national holiday on the Monday following. ====Singapore==== In [[Singapore]], Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. It is not recognized as a holiday by the government. ====Slovakia==== [[Czechoslovakia]] celebrated only Women's Day until the [[Velvet Revolution]] in 1989. After the country split in 1993, [[Slovakia]] started celebrating both Women's Day and Mother's Day. The politicization of Women's Day has affected the official status of Mother's Day. Center-right parties want Mother's Day to replace Women's Day, and social-democrats want to make Women's Day an official holiday. Currently, both days are festive, but they are not "state holidays". In the Slovak Republic, Mother's Day is celebrated every second Sunday in May.<ref name="eastern"/> ====South Africa==== In [[South Africa]], Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. It is not recognized as a holiday by the government. The tradition is to give cards and gifts and to serve mothers breakfast in bed or to go out to lunch together as a family. ====South Sudan==== In [[South Sudan]], Mother's Day is celebrated on the first Monday in July. The president [[Salva Kiir Mayardit]] proclaimed Mother's Day as the first Monday in July after handing over from Sudan. Children in South Sudan are presenting mothers with gifts and flowers. The first Mother's Day was held in that country on 2 July 2012.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} ====Spain==== In Spain, Mother's Day or Día de la Madre is celebrated on the first Sunday of May. The weeks leading up to this Sunday, school children spend a few hours a day preparing a gift for their mothers, aided by their school teachers. In general, mothers receive gifts from their family members & this day is meant to be celebrated with the whole family. It is also said to be celebrated in May, as May is the month dedicated to the Virgin Mary (mother of Jesus) according to Catholicism. The idea of a month dedicated specifically to Mary can be traced back to baroque times. Although it wasn't always held during May, Mary Month included thirty daily spiritual exercises honoring Mary.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ncregister.com/blog/mfenelon/why-is-may-the-month-of-mary|title=Why is May the Month of Mary?|work=National Catholic Register|access-date=2 March 2018}}</ref> In 1925 the Valencian poet [[Julio Menéndez García]] published a ''Hymn to Mother'' in a pamphlet in which he proposed the celebration of Mother's Day in all Spanish-speaking countries.<ref>''Diario de Valencia'', 25 September 1925</ref> The official declaration was never produced, but at that time the initiative was adopted at a local level on different dates; thus, for example, in Madrid, Mother's Day was celebrated on 4 October 1926.<ref>''La Opinión: diario independiente de la mañana'', 4 October 1926.</ref> In 1939 the [[Frente de Juventudes|Youth Front]] of [[FET y de las JONS]] party, promoted the celebration of Mother's Day coinciding with the feast of the Immaculate Conception, on 8 December. In the early 1960s, on the initiative of a chain of department stores ([[Galerías Preciados]]), which copied the custom established in Cuba, Mother's Day was also celebrated on the first Sunday of May ([[El Corte Inglés]], the great competitor of Galerías Preciados, celebrated the holiday in December). The two dates, May and December, coexisted until 1965 when the ecclesiastical authorities chose to celebrate the festival in May, within the month consecrated to the Virgin, to recover the authentic character of the Day of the Immaculate Conception.<ref>''Nueva Alcarria'', 5 December 1964.</ref> ====Sri Lanka==== In Sri Lanka, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. ====Sweden==== In [[Sweden]], Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1919, by an initiative of the author Cecilia Bååth-Holmberg. It took several decades for the day to be widely recognized. Swedes born in the early nineteen hundreds typically did not celebrate the day because of the common belief that the holiday was invented strictly for commercial purposes. This was in contrast to Father's Day, which has been widely celebrated in Sweden since the late 1970s. Mother's Day in Sweden is celebrated on the last Sunday in May. A later date was chosen to allow everyone to go outside and pick flowers.<ref name="nordstjernan.com z291">{{cite web | title=Unique page title | website=nordstjernan.com | url=https://nordstjernan.com/news/traditions/5542/ | access-date=January 6, 2024}}</ref><ref name="VÄRLDENS HISTORIA 2023 w007">{{cite web | title=Mors dag 2023: När är det mors dag? | website=VÄRLDENS HISTORIA | date=May 28, 2023 | url=https://varldenshistoria.se/samhalle/traditioner/mors-dag-nar-ar-det-mors-dag | language=sv | access-date=January 6, 2024}}</ref> ====Switzerland==== In [[Switzerland]], the "règle de Pentecôte" law allows Mother's Day to be celebrated a week late if the holiday falls on the same day as Pentecost. In 2008, merchants declined to move the date.<ref>{{citation |title= La Fête des Mères 2008 ne sera pas reportée |language= fr |author= Fleurop-Interflora (Suisse) |date= 22 April 2008 |url= http://www.presseportal.ch/fr/print.htx?nr=100559568 }}</ref> ====Taiwan==== In [[Taiwan]], Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of the month of May, coinciding with [[Buddha's birthday]] and the traditional ceremony of "washing the Buddha". In 1999 the Taiwanese government established the second Sunday of May as Buddha's birthday, so they would be celebrated in the same day.<ref>{{citation |title= Thousands of believers mark Buddha's birthday |author= Camaron Kao |date= 14 May 2012 |work= [[China Post]] |url= http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2012/05/14/341025/Thousands-of.htm |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130616030705/http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2012/05/14/341025/Thousands-of.htm |archive-date= 16 June 2013 |df= dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Sakyamuni Buddha birthday celebrated |author= Ko Shu-Ling |date= 9 May 2011 |work= [[Taipei Times]] |url= http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/05/09/2003502765 |quote= The legislature approved a proposal in 1999 to designate the birthday of Sakyamuni Buddha – which falls on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar – a national holiday and to celebrate the special occasion concurrently with International Mother's Day, which is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. }}</ref> Since 2006,<ref>{{cite web |title= 300,000 Attend Buddha Day Ceremonies in 34 Countries |publisher= [[Tzu Chi]] |date= 15 May 2012 |url= http://www.tzuchi.org.sg/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1340:300000-attend-buddha-day-ceremonies-in-34-countries&catid=120:2012-news&Itemid=595 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120523022231/http://www.tzuchi.org.sg/eng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1340:300000-attend-buddha-day-ceremonies-in-34-countries&catid=120:2012-news&Itemid=595 |archive-date= 23 May 2012 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> the [[Tzu Chi]], the largest charity organization in Taiwan, celebrates the Tzu Chi Day, Mother's Day and Buddha's birthday all together, as part of a unified celebration and religious observance.<ref>{{citation |title= Tzu Chi Foundation to stage Mother's Day event |work= [[Taipei Times]] |date= 4 May 2008 |url= http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/05/04/2003411015 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |title= Cultural center performs 'bathing Buddha' ceremony |author= Caroline Hong |work= Taipei Times |date= 23 May 2004 |url= http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2004/05/23/2003156619 }}</ref><ref>{{citation |title= Taiwan Quick Take: Tzu Chi celebrates birthday |date= 15 May 2006 |page= 3 |author= unsigned |work= Taipei Times |url= http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2006/05/15/2003308272 }}</ref> ====Thailand==== Mother's day in [[Thailand]] is celebrated on the birthday of the Queen Mother of Thailand, [[Sirikit]] (12 August).<ref>{{Cite news |title= Police chief returns earlier for Mother's Day |work= [[MCOT]] news |agency= Thai News Agency |date= 10 August 2012 |url= http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=11235 |quote= (...) an audience with Her Majesty Queen Sirikit on Tuesday on the occasion of her birthday, which is also observed as National Mother's Day. |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110723203602/http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=11235 |archive-date= 23 July 2011 |df= dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|first=Brian|last=Handwerk|title=Mother's Day Turns 100: Its Surprisingly Dark History|url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140508-mothers-day-nation-gifts-facts-culture-moms/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140510211603/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/05/140508-mothers-day-nation-gifts-facts-culture-moms/|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 May 2014|magazine=National Geographic|date=9 May 2014|access-date=9 July 2019}}</ref> The holiday was first celebrated around the 1980s as part of the campaign by the Prime Minister of Thailand [[Prem Tinsulanonda]] to promote Thailand's Royal family.<ref name=handley /> Father's Day is celebrated on the late King [[Bhumibol Adulyadej]]'s birthday.<ref name=handley>{{Cite book|title= The King Never Smiles: a biography of Thailand's Bhumibol Adulyadej |author=Paul M. Handley |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year= 2006 |isbn= 9780300106824 |page= 288 |title-link=The King Never Smiles }} ([https://books.google.com/books?id=d75WYMdp8-0C&dq=Sirikit+mother%27s+day&pg=PA288 online version])</ref> ====Ukraine==== [[Ukraine]] celebrates Mother's Day ({{lang-uk|День Матері}}) on the second Sunday of May. In Ukraine, Mother's Day officially became a holiday in 1999<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zakon2.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/489/99 |publisher=zakon2.rada.gov.ua|title= Украз Президента України. Про День Матері|language=uk}}</ref> and has been celebrated since 2000. Ukrainian society also celebrates [[International Women's Day]], a holiday adopted under the [[Soviet Union]] that remained a tradition in Ukraine after [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|its collapse]].{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} ====United Kingdom==== [[File:Happy Mother's Day - geograph.org.uk - 709934.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Balloon]]s outside, in the week before Mother's Day 2008]] The [[United Kingdom]] celebrates Mother's Day on the [[Fourth Sunday in Lent]] ({{Moveable date |holiday=Mothering Sunday |year={{CURRENTYEAR}}}}).<ref>{{cite web|title=Mother's Day: When is it celebrated and where did it come from?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/17343360|website=BBC|date=14 March 2021|access-date=10 April 2021}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, the holiday has its roots in the religious [[Mothering Sunday]] celebration and was originally unrelated to the international Mother's Day holiday.<ref name="bbc"/> Most historians believe that Mothering Sunday evolved from a medieval practice of visiting one's mother church annually on [[Laetare Sunday]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Higdon |first1=David Leon |title=The Wife of Bath and Refreshment Sunday |journal=Papers on Language and Literature |date=1972 |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=199–201 |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/950908498b6f12eb4101e772a0c0e480/}}</ref> ====United States==== {{Main|Mother's Day (United States)}} [[File:Michelle Obama, Jill Biden and Prince Henry.jpg|thumb|left|[[Prince Harry]], [[Michelle Obama]] and [[Jill Biden]] helping children create Mother's Day cards at the [[White House]], 9 May 2013]] [[File:Mother's day gifts.jpg|thumb|Handmade Mother's Day gifts]] The United States celebrates Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. In 1872 [[Julia Ward Howe]] called for women to join in support of disarmament and asked for 2 June 1872, to be established as a "Mother's Day for Peace". Her 1870 "Appeal to womanhood throughout the world" is sometimes referred to as [[Mother's Day Proclamation]]. But Howe's day was not for honouring mothers but for organizing pacifist mothers against war. In the 1880s and 1890s there were several further attempts to establish an American "Mother's Day", but these did not succeed beyond the local level.<ref name=virginia>{{Cite book|title=The family in America: an encyclopedia|chapter=Mother's Day|first=Virginia|last=Bernhard|editor=Joseph M. Hawes |editor2=Elizabeth F. Shores|edition=3, illustrated|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|year=2002|isbn= 978-1576072325|page=714|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z55xx8_P08UC&pg=PT714}}</ref> <!--This text duplicates the information found under the Founding (United States) heading, so I have taken it out for now.--> <!--The current [[Secular holiday|holiday]] was created by [[Anna Jarvis]] in [[Grafton, West Virginia]] in 1908 as a day to honour one's mother.<ref name=vancouversun /> Jarvis wanted to accomplish her mother's dream of making a celebration for all mothers, although the idea did not take off until she enlisted the services of wealthy Philadelphia merchant John Wanamaker, who celebrated it on 8 May 1910 in Bethany Temple Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA of which he was the founder. In a letter to the pastor, she said it was, "our first Mother's Day".<ref name=rouvalis>Cristina Rouvalis, [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08132/880876-85.stm For the mother of Mother's Day, it's just never been right], Cristina Rouvalis, ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', 11 May 2008.</ref> Jarvis kept promoting the holiday until President Woodrow Wilson made the day an official national holiday in 1914.<ref name=virginia /> The holiday eventually became so highly commercialized that many, including its founder, Anna Jarvis, considered it a "[[Hallmark holiday]]," ''i.e.'' one with an overwhelming commercial purpose. Jarvis eventually ended up opposing the holiday she had helped to create.<ref name=vancouversun /><ref name="newcomer 135–136"/> This economic modernization was inspired by US models and was sponsored by the state. She died in 1948, regretting what had become of her holiday.<ref name=rouvalis /> --> In the United States, Mother's Day remains one of the biggest days for sales of flowers, greeting cards, and the like; Mother's Day is also the biggest holiday for long-distance telephone calls.<ref>Barbara Mikkelson, "[http://www.snopes.com/holidays/fathersday/collect.asp We love you – call collect]". Snopes.com. Retrieved 2010.03.08.</ref> Moreover, [[Church service|churchgoing]] is also popular on Mother's Day, yielding the highest [[church attendance]] after Christmas Eve and Easter. Many worshippers celebrate the day with [[carnations]], coloured if the mother is living and white if she is dead.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Churchgoing">{{cite book |author=J. Ellsworth Kalas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QQpXwIt3ihAC&q=%22third+only+to+Christmas+Eve+and+Easter%22&pg=PA76 |title=Preaching the Calendar: Celebrating Holidays and Holy Days |publisher=[[Westminster John Knox Press]]|quote=Church attendance on this day is likely to be third only to Christmas Eve and Easter. Some worshipers still celebrate with carnations, colored if the mother is living and white if she is deceased.|date=2009|isbn = 978-0664227142}}</ref> Mother's Day continues to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions.<ref>{{cite web | title = Mother's Day Dining Fact Sheet | date = 28 April 2006 | publisher = [[National Restaurant Association]] | url = http://www.restaurant.org/Pressroom/Press-Releases/Mother-s-Day-Dining-Fact-Sheet | quote = Mother's Day is the most popular day of the year to dine out, with 38 percent of consumers reporting doing so | access-date = 29 December 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170627080205/http://www.restaurant.org/Pressroom/Press-Releases/Mother-s-Day-Dining-Fact-Sheet | archive-date = 27 June 2017 | url-status = dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref> It is possible that the holiday would have withered over time without the support and continuous promotion of the florist industries and other commercial industries. Other Protestant holidays from the same time, such as [[Children's Day]] and [[Temperance Sunday]], do not have the same level of popularity.<ref>Leigh, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=maF8mTPsJqsC&q=mother%27s+day&pg=PA256 256]</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page