Mother’s Day 2023: Here’s how US, UK, Russia celebrate their versions of the day

You must have started receiving Mother’s Day WhatsApp forwards already. While some countries celebrate the occasion on different dates, in India and some countries including the United States of America (USA), Canada, Australia and New Zealand, May’s second Sunday is celebrated as Mother’s Day.

While the American Mother’s Day has become popular, let’s take a look at how other countries have their own versions of the occasion and observe it on different days.

Mother’s Day – The American Way

Mother’s Day in the United States owes its existence to the tireless efforts of one remarkable woman: Anna Jarvis. Born in 1854 during the Civil War, Anna witnessed the loss of several siblings to diseases like measles, typhoid, and diphtheria. Her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, was inspired by these experiences and devoted her life to advocating for maternal causes, according to an IE report. She formed a group of mothers from both sides of the Civil War to promote peace and teach sanitation practices that could help prevent child mortality.

As a young woman, Anna overheard her mother express a hope for a “memorial mother’s day” to honour the service of mothers everywhere. This idea stuck with Anna, and she dedicated her life to making it a reality. The report further stated that she tirelessly wrote letters to politicians, businessmen, and church leaders, advocating for a day to celebrate mothers. She chose the second Sunday in May as the date for Mother’s Day and selected white carnations, her mother’s favourite flower, as the day’s emblem.

Anna’s efforts paid off in 1908, when the first Mother’s Day events were held in her hometown of Grafton and in Philadelphia. Then, in 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill formally recognizing Mother’s Day as a national holiday.

Mothering Sunday in UK

Mothering Sunday in Britain has been celebrated for centuries and is considered older than the modern holiday, Mother’s Day. This special day was observed on the fourth Sunday of Lent, a 40-day period starting from February to April. On Mothering Sunday, people went to their “mother church” or the church where they were baptised. Additionally, for those working away from their hometowns, it was an opportunity to visit their mothers.

Constance Adelaide Smith was instrumental in reviving Mothering Sunday in the UK. In 1913, she came across Anna Jarvis’s Mother’s Day and believed that instead of adopting an American holiday, the UK should revive its own tradition. Constance Smith wrote books, plays, poems, and cards to explain the significance of Mothering Sunday and promoted the giving of traditional foods like simnel cakes and wafer cakes. By 1938, Mothering Sunday was celebrated in every parish across Britain and its empire.

Mother’s Day in other countries

Mother’s Day in Russia and nearby countries coincides with International Women’s Day, rooted in women’s rights movements. Thailand celebrates the occasion on Queen Mother Sirikit’s birthday August 12, while in Ethiopia, families gather in the fall season for Antrosht, a multi-day feast and celebration of motherhood.