In the United States, we will be celebrating Mother’s Day tomorrow. Mother’s Day is considered a national holiday and probably accounts for the most flowers and candy purchased for the entire year! It, at least, comes in a close tie with Christmas and Valentine’s day. Traditions for these festive occasion usually include flowers, candy, phone calls from children grown and far away, chores taken on by the family, dinner out and if you are especially blessed, breakfast in bed! In the Catholic Church, a added benefit of the day, are special Masses and prayers offered for mothers throughout the month.
In Australia, Mother’s Day falls on the same day as in the United States. There is that matter of the time difference which means Australia is always ahead of us in getting into the next day but we won’t worry about that as long as the mothers are celebrated and remembered! There is a tradition in Australia of wearing a carnation on Mother’s Day. A colored flower indicates that a person’s mother is living and a white one is worn to honor a deceased mother.
Just as in the United States, Mothers Day in Canada is a most popular festival after Valentine’s Day and Christmas. And, as in the United States, the commercial side of the world does good business with offerings of Mother’s Day cards, candy, and flowers!
In France, Mother’s Day is on the last Sunday in May. Usually, the family gathers for a special dinner and dessert is a beautifully decorated cake to mark the occasion. The cake is usually frosted to look like flowers – tasty and beautiful.
For less than a decade, India has been celebrating Mother’s Day. It has, however, in that short a time, grown to be a successful and lovingly anticipated holiday celebrated on the second Sunday of May. Like other countries, India takes the time to appreciate mothers and surprise them with gifts and thanksgiving for having them in their lives. The stores and restaurants have many options for the day. Seemingly, the quick way the country has accepted the concept of Mother’s Day shows that it will soon be considered a day of national celebration.
Mothering Sunday in Ireland is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in Lent. The history behind this chosen day on the calender goes back to the medieval practice when poor families had to send their children to work as apprentices or house servants. Every year, in the middle of Lent, the children were given one day off to visit their “Mother Church” and ask the intercession of the Blessed Mother Mary in their lives. After paying their respects to the Mother of God, the children visited their mothers and gave them flowers that gathered on their walk home. Flowers and cards are generally the signs of appreciation given to the mothers of Ireland on their day.
Mother’s Day in Mexico has a fixed date and always falls on May 10th each year. Mother’s Day is a widespread and colorful celebration in the country. Sons and daughters begin the festivities the day before by visiting their mothers on May ninth. There is a special Catholic Mass offered for the mothers. The song played by the various bands and orchestras involved in the celebrations is “las mananitas”.
This is the morning song
that King David used to sing
Today being the day of your saint, we sing it to you
Wake up my dearest, wake up, see now that the day has dawned
the sparrows are singing, the moon has finally set.
How lovely is this morning, when I come to greet you
we all come with joy and pleasure to congratulate you.
The very day you were born all the flowers first bloomed
and in the baptismal font all the nightingales sang.
The dawn has come my darling, and the sunlight is here for us.
Rise up and shine with the morning and you’ll see that here’s the dawn.
In South Africa, Mother’s Day falls on the second Sunday of May. The families of South Africa take the true meaning of the holiday very seriously in celebrating their mothers with thanks, love, and care on their day. The little children carefully made heartfelt homemade gifts. They also remember that it is not just mothers who should be honored on this day but grandmothers and the women in their lives that have been like mothers to them.
The Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception in the Catholic calendar falls on December eight. In Spain, they also celebrate Mother’s day on that date paying tribute not only to their mothers but to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Seems an appropriate and loving way to honor both our heavenly Mother and the mothers God has blessed us with on earth.
The United Kingdom celebrates Mothering Sunday which falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent. Interesting to note that the UK has a history of celebrating mothers much earlier than in the United States. In the 1600’s, the UK was the first country in the world to put aside a day specifically for mothers. The tradition of Mothering Sunday stopped with the Industrial Revolution in England when life patterns and working conditions underwent so many changes. In today’s world, the original meaning of Mothering Sunday has disappeared and is now celebrated much like the United States version.
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