Mother's Day is in many countries a day for celebrating motherhood and thanking mothers. Mothers often receive gifts on this day, and it is a huge time of year for mail in many countries. In 1973, the U.S. Postal Service was held up for 8 days because of the constant flow of letters and cards.
Origins
Mother's day has evolved in many countries in different ways. This is because mother's day has different origins in different countries and hence occurs on different days in the year.
One school of thought claims that this day emerged from the custom of mother worship in ancient Greece. Mother worship which kept a festival to Cybele, a great mother of gods, and Rhea, the wife of Cronus, was held on March 15 to March 18 around Asia Minor. They insist that this custom spread around the world.
Mothering Sunday in the United Kingdom falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent (typically March or early April). It has been celebrated for hundreds of years, although the exact origins are not certain. Tradition has it that young apprentices were released for the weekend by their masters in order to visit their families.
In most countries around the world, mother's day is a new concept copied from western civilisation. In many countries in Africa, mother's day has its origins in copying the British concept of mother's day. In most of east Asia, mother's day is a heavily marketed and commercialised concept which is copied straight from Mother's Day in the US.
Date
Most countries have this day in May, often on a Sunday.
- Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Taiwan, Turkey, United States: the second Sunday in May. (See Mother's day (USA).)
- much of South America (as well as Mexico), Bahrain, India, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates: May 10
- Hungary, Portugal, South Africa, Spain: first Sunday in May
- Antwerp (Belgium), Costa Rica: August 15, Assumption day
- Albania: March 8
- Argentina: the second OR third Sunday in October, the Día de la Madre
- France: first Sunday in June OR last Sunday in May
- Indonesia: December 22
- Egypt: March 21
- Lebanon: first day of Spring
- Norway: the second Sunday in February
- Poland: May 26
- Sweden: last Sunday in May
- Thailand: August 12, birthday of Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara
- United Kingdom : Mother's Day, formally Mothering Sunday, is the fourth Sunday in Lent, and its origin is unrelated to the US Mother's Day
- Russia: November 28
See also
External links
Last updated: 05-06-2005 11:42:02
