Why is Mother’s Day celebrated in certain countries on different days?

On May 7th, Mother’s Day was celebrated in Spain, a holiday that honors mothers in many parts of the world. Although in our country this holiday takes place on the first Sunday of May, it is not the case in all countries.

Mother’s Day has been celebrated for thousands of years, even before a certain Jesus of Nazareth was born. Many years later, Christianity adopted the celebration, and it began to be observed on December 8th, the day of the Immaculate Conception. With the arrival of Pope Pius IX to the Vatican, the date was changed to May in 1854, a month dedicated to the veneration of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.

With the expansion and spread of Christianity to other parts of the world, such as America and Asia, practically all Christian regions adopted the month of May to celebrate Mother’s Day. Since a specific day was never determined, each country chose a day of their own preference.

As a result, we find that Mother’s Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of May in Spain, Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, and South Africa; the second Sunday of May in Germany, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, among others; and in other countries like Albania, Mexico, Samoa, Nicaragua, Sweden, and France, it is celebrated on different days throughout the month.

However, Mother’s Day is also celebrated in some countries in different months for various reasons, such as coinciding with International Women’s Day (Albania), the arrival of spring (Palestine), or the fourth Sunday of Lent, known as “Mothering Sunday” (Ireland).

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