Every first Sunday in May, Mother’s Day is celebrated. But why on this date? we explain Why is Mother’s Day celebrated on the first Sunday of May: origin and history of this tradition with great detail.
Origin of Mother’s Day
The truth is that the origin of mother’s day It has little to do with honoring the figure of our mother or the woman who has brought life to the world, but had a much more picturesque reason for being. This tradition comes from ancient began to be held in the seventeenth century. The date was made to coincide with the fourth Sunday of Easter and the reason for the celebration was none other than to honor the Church. Flowers and other offerings were presented to the Churches in which each had been baptized.
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Although we can also go back further in time, because in the Ancient Greece he gave up worship of the goddess Rhea who was the mother of the gods Poseidon, Zeus and Hades. While the Romans followed the tradition by celebrating a similar festival known as Hilaria in which three days of religious worship of Cybele were established in her temple. The Roman Hilaria began on March 15 and lasted for three days.
Arriving the Christianitythey surrendered honors to the Mother of Godwhich materialized when the XVII century in going to the Churches where the baptism had been received, known as “Mother Church”. Arriving in the year 1600, this religious festival took a turn, and was still celebrated in churches, but making children go to mass and then return with gifts to give to their mothers. She started calling him Mother’s Sunday. And it was even a non-working day so that mothers and children could share the party.
Even so, time had to pass and events took place for the Mother’s Day became as we know it today. The architect of this was a woman, the activist Julia Ward Howe He wanted to bring together all the women who as mothers of families had been victims of the American Secession War to meet and demonstrate, in addition to celebrating a religious act. This was a precedent that was later imitated, in 1908 by another housewife, Anna Reeves-Jarvis. Javis started a national campaign for these acts to be held every year officially and chose a date for it. The chosen date was second Sunday of Mayfor this is the date of his mother’s death.
Why in Spain Mother’s Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of May
We have seen different reasons and different dates of celebration for Mother’s Day. But commonly, in Spain we usually celebrate it on the first Sunday of May, why? We tell you. In Spain A similar festival had already been celebrated for many years in honor of the mother, specifically in honor of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, and had been held since at least the year 1330. However, the chosen month was December and, more particularly, , on December 8, since the year 1644. When, as we have seen before, the two women activists decided to summon the mothers to a demonstration and ask for support to establish an official date, President Wilson of the United States officially declared the party, but each country was establishing its own date in its calendar.
Finally, in 1965, it was decided that this festivity would take place on first sunday of may. Not surprisingly, he Month of May It is the month of flowers and the month of the mother of Godthe Virgin Mary.
Not only Spain, but also other countries such as Lithuania, Hungary, South Africa or Portugal also established this date of celebration and for the same reasons. In addition, the Anglo-Saxon countries served as an example.
Since then there are two very similar festivals, one is the feast of the Immaculate Conception, which takes place in the month of December, in honor of the mother of Christ. and the other is the Mother’s Day in May in Spain and some other countries that we have already mentioned.
Mother’s Day in other countries
For many people, the fact that Mother’s Day changes depending on the country, just as customs are not the same, is still unknown. An example Did you know that Norwegians are the first of the year to celebrate this day?
In addition to Spain, many countries celebrate Mother’s Day in the month of May, although on different dates. For example, the second Sunday in May is celebrated by countries such as Austria, Australia, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Belgium, Colombia, China, Canada, Japan, Latvia, Cuba, Italy, Greece, the Philippines, and the Netherlands. Switzerland or Taiwan, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela or New Zealand also do the same.
The May 8 They celebrate it in South Korea. On the 10th, the United Arab Emirates, India, El Salvador, Guatemala, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, Mexico and Oman do so. On the 14th Samoa does it and on the 15th Paraguay. Poland follows on the 26th, Bolivia on the 27th and Nicaragua on the 30th. Finally, on the last Sunday of May, Cúcuta, France, Sweden and the Dominican Republic celebrate.
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Later, the August 12Thailand is added. And on the 15th Antwerp, Belgium and Costa Rica do it. In October, reaching the third Sunday, Belarus and Argentina celebrate. Panama does it on December 8 and Indonesia on the 22.
The second sunday of february is Norway. And March begins with Georgia on the 3rd, followed by Russia, Montenegro, Romania, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Bulgaria on the 8th, which curiously coincides with the celebration of International Women’s Day. Or Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Morocco and Saudi Arabia on March 21, which is the day spring begins.
On the other hand, the fourth Sunday of Lent It is celebrated by Ireland and the United Kingdom, as are other English-speaking countries. It is a festivity that has great weight in the country, known as Mothering Sunday, it is believed that they originally returned to the “mother church” where they had been baptized or the closest one, to later become a day holiday in which domestic workers were allowed to go see their mothers, being one of the few days in which everyone could meet, until today in which women who have given birth are celebrated.
They call it Mothering Sunday (Sunday of the Mothers) and it is very important in the country, since Lent is lifted to pay tribute to the woman who has given birth.
As you can see, the origin of mother’s day It is very curious and each country has its own date of celebration. But yes, it is celebrated in almost all parts of the world.
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