Celebrating moms on Mother’s Day is a heart-warming custom. Explore these beautiful Mother’s Day traditions from around the world. Maybe they will inspire you to shower your mother with even more love and appreciation.
The Origin of Mother’s Day
Festivals honouring mothers date back to ancient times. Festivals for mother goddesses were held by the Phrygians during a festival for Cybele, the Great Mother of Gods, by the Greeks who celebrated their goddess Rhea and the Romans who worshipped Ceres. In India, the goddess Durga is still celebrated during Durga-Puja festival.
In its modern form, Mother’s Day started in the United States. It goes back to 1908 when Anna Jarvis created this day to remember the sacrifices of all mothers and to honour her own late mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis. Her mother, was a social activist who created Mothers’ Day Work Clubs in the 19th century where women learned how to best take care of their children. The clubs were to promote friendship and health. Very quickly, Mother’s Day was adopted by almost every state in America and The U.S. President, Woodrow Wilson, made it a national holiday in 1914.
Mother’s Day Traditions in the USA
Mother’s Day in the USA is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Children, both small and grown-up, gift their mothers their favourite flowers and make them breakfast or dinner composed of their favourite foods. In addition, people wear flower corsages on that day. Traditionally, you wear a pink carnation to honour a living mother and a white carnation to honour a diseased one. This custom is unique to the USA.
Mother’s Day Traditions in Canada
Mother’s Day takes place on the second Sunday in May in Canada. Canadian children gift their moms flowers and chocolates and they make them breakfast or brunch. A mom often sleeps in and is served breakfast in bed composed of pancakes drizzled with maple syrup, fruits and morning coffee. It is also customary to take mom out to brunch and celebrate with the whole family. The restaurants in Canada are very busy on that day so you’d better make reservations if you don’t want to disappoint Mom.
Mother’s Day Traditions in Mexico
Mother’s Day in Mexico has a curious origin. It was first celebrated on May 10th, 1922, at the time when Mexican mothers were just starting to think of their careers more and were choosing to have fewer children. It was organized as a result of a motherhood campaign launched by the El Hogar, a Mexican magazine, and the Association of Catholic Ladies who were trying to reestablish the traditional Mexican values. Mother’s Day in Mexico is celebrated with flowers and restaurant meals . Almost everyone invites their mother to either lunch or dinner and they indulge in fabulous food while listening to traditional Mexican music. Mexican children also stage a little play for their moms where they act out a scene from their lives with mothers as leading stars. The mothers are also serenaded by mariachi bands, usually with the song “Las Mananitas.”
Mother’s Day in Peru
Mother’s Day in Peru is a week-long event. Children celebrate their mothers with festive meals, family visits and trips that are planned ahead of time. Artistic performances are very common here and mothers can visit museums, shows and exhibitions for free throughout the week. Children present their moms with flowers and gifts and they recite poems to them. It is also common to celebrate diseased mothers and grandmothers by cleaning their graves and decorating them with heart-shaped balloons and flowers. It is one of the most important holidays in Peru.
Mother’s Day Celebrations in France
Mother’s Day in France is celebrated either on the last Sunday in May or the first Sunday in June. It is a more subtle and intimate holiday than in other countries. Children celebrate their moms by making them a flower bouquet cake; a cake in the shape of a bouquet. They also give their moms handwritten cards and gifts of perfumes and jewellery. One unique tradition dates back to Napoleonic times when families with many children were awarded medals. To honour this old tradition, children still present their mothers with medals in some parts of France.
Mother’s Day Festivities in India
There are different Mother’s Day traditions in urban and rural India. In the cities, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. In the villages, however, people still stick to traditional ways of celebrating mothers which happens either during their 9-day Navaratri festival or the 10-day Durga Puja that is held in October. People decorate their houses, spend time together preparing sweets and eat outside. They dance to Garba music in the west of India, and eat a lot of delicious street food in the east.
Mother’s Day in Ethiopia
Mothers have a special place in Ethiopian culture. That is why people celebrate Mother’s Day for three days starting on the second Sunday in May. On that day, children relieve their mothers of cooking and prepare a meal called ‘hash’ that consists of lamb, vegetables and butter for the family. Hash is served with a punch, a traditional Ethiopian drink. Families gather, enjoy their time together and spoil the mothers with feasts.
Mother’s Day in Japan
Mother’s Day in Japan started in 1913. It stopped for a while during World War II and it was brought back after the war. Then, the purpose of it changed. It was celebrated to console mothers who have lost their children during the war. Nowadays, children in Japan give their mothers red carnations on Mother’s Day. Carnations symbolize purity, endurance and love. Children often prepare their mothers’ favourite dishes like Tamagoyaki or Chawanmushi. They also draw their mother’s portraits and hand them in as gifts. Other common gifts include traditional Japanese drawings and calligraphy.
What Mother’s Day traditions do you uphold?
