Mother's Day Celebrations Around the World

Celebrating mothers with a big day is a time-honored tradition practiced by many people cultures and regions around the world.

Modern Mother's Day Customs

A mothers day is that special day of the year when kids of all ages try to show just how much they appreciate their mothers. A mother's day celebrations often include honoring one's mother with cards and flowers, a unique mother's day brunch or serving mom a unique Mother's Day breakfast in bed.

Children may enjoy surprising their mothers having a large box of chocolates on A birthday, sweetly anticipating that moment when their mother purports to share some of the tasty treat together.

It is also a time children proudly present their mothers with special hand-made A birthday gifts, often bringing home cards or hand-written poems from soccer practice to surprise mom on her behalf special day.

Many mothers treasure hand-made plaster cast plaques of the youngsters' hands. This seemed the most popular Mother's Day gift promoted for a long time by Sunday School teachers, preschools, and elementary school teachers.

Churches and business might even pay tribute to mothers on A birthday by presenting corsages or special A birthday gifts to honor the oldest and youngest mothers present, or even the mother with the most children.

Celebrating mothers having a special day of their own is a relatively recent holiday in North America and Europe. However the roots of modern Mother's Day celebrations could be traced back to ancient pagan celebrations.

Historical Beginnings of A Mothers day

Ancient Greeks celebrated a holiday honoring Rhea, "Mother from the Gods" and the Romans held an annual festival to Cybele, their "Great Mother from the Gods" on the 4th of April. Then from Roman Emperor Claudius onward, this festival lasted because of not one, but six days, from April 4th-10th.

The initial one-day pagan religious festival became an annual cycle of festivals that extended from March 15th-27th. However, as Christianity flourished and spread, this pagan celebration honoring the "Mother from the Gods" evolved into a Christian holiday honoring the "Mother Church."

Throughout the sixteenth century, according to Wikipedia.org, Britain's "Mothering Sunday" wasn't a celebration of motherhood, but a reputation referring to Laetare Sunday or mid-Lent Sunday within the Christian liturgical calendar. Church services were held around the fourth Sunday of Lent also it was considered a time for individuals to return to the "mother church."

Eventually, this church festival of "Mothering Sunday" began honoring mothers along with the church. "Mothering Sunday" became a day domestic servants received off to spend with their families.

Because so many of England's poor worked as servants, they frequently lived away from their families. Residing in servants' quarters in their employers' homes, servants were rarely given each day off. The holiday of "Mothering Sunday" served like a rare opportunity for poor families to get together.

Mother's Day Around the World

Britain still celebrates "Mothering Sunday" around the fourth Sunday in Lent, and contains evolved into a celebration much like the modern American A birthday holiday. Mothering Sunday is also still celebrated in certain Canadian Anglican churches, too. Along with England, Sweden, India, China, and Mexico also celebrate A birthday on the fourth Sunday in Lent.

America, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium celebrate A birthday on the second Sunday in May. Still, other countries celebrate Mother's Day at different times.

Around the last Sunday of May, French mothers are traditionally given a special cake at a family dinner to honor them around the designated Mother's Day in France.

Slavic countries honor mothers at the outset of Advent, tying Mother's Day celebrations along with their Christmas season.

And, December 8th happens when Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain. This is the same day as the Feast from the Immaculate Conception.The celebration works as a day to honor Mary, mom of Jesus, as well as mothers in one's family.

In the usa, Mother's Day first celebrated around the second Sunday of May in 1908. In 1910, the governor of West Virginia proclaimed the 2nd Sunday in May as A birthday, and then a year later every state celebrated it. President Woodrow Wilson eventually proclaimed A birthday an official national holiday.