Mother’s Day is a holiday honoring motherhood that is observed in different forms throughout the world.
In the United States, Mother’s Day 2023 will occur on Sunday, May 14. The American version of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914.
Jarvis wanted to honor her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, who was a peace activist and a public health advocate. She also wanted to celebrate the role of mothers in society and their contributions to their families.
However, Jarvis later denounced the commercialization of Mother’s Day and spent the latter part of her life trying to remove it from the calendar. She believed that Mother’s Day should be a simple and sincere expression of love and gratitude, not a profit-making opportunity for businesses.
Some other countries have their own traditions and dates for celebrating Mother’s Day. For example, in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, Mother’s Day is also known as Mothering Sunday and falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent. It originated as a Christian festival when people would return to their “mother church” for a special service.
In some countries, Mother’s Day is associated with older festivals or religious events that honor mother goddesses or maternal figures. For example, in Greece, Mother’s Day is celebrated on February 2nd, which coincides with the Orthodox feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ at the Temple. In India, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May along with Durga Ashtami , which honors Goddess Durga as the mother of all creation.
