Mother’s Day 2024: history, meaning and why the date changes every year

Every year it falls on the second Sunday of May: and this year Mother’s Day is celebrated today, May 12th. May is also the month dedicated by the Catholic religion to the Madonna, the mother of everyone and also of all mothers.

Country you go, date I found

This civil holiday is observed in many countries around the world, but there is no single day of the year that unites all the states in which the event is celebrated. In almost two-thirds of these countries, the holiday is celebrated in May, while about a quarter of them celebrate it in March.

In Ancient Greece

The roots of Mother’s Day date back to very ancient times. In Greece, Rhea, the mother of the gods, was celebrated, while in Rome holidays were held in honor of Cybele, goddess of the Earth and fertility. These ancient cults highlight the connection of the festival with the veneration of the maternal figure and fertility.

In the fifties

In Italy, Mother’s Day as we understand it today was born in the mid-1950s on two different occasions: one linked to commercial promotion reasons and the other to religious reasons. From a commercial point of view, Raoul Zaccari, senator and mayor of Bordighera, was one of the promoters of the law establishing Mother’s Day, approved in 1958. In collaboration with Giacomo Pallanca, president of the Bordighera Flower and Ornamental Plant Fair Authority -Vallecrosia, Zaccari took the initiative to celebrate Mother’s Day in Bordighera, at the Zeni Theatre. Subsequently, the festival spread to other parts of Italy.

May, the month of the Madonna

From a religious point of view, the month of May is dedicated to the Madonna, mother of all mothers, and also represents the period of spring and the explosion of flowers to be given to mothers.

The party in the world

Around the world, Mother’s Day dates vary greatly. For example: Australia: Mother’s Day is the second Sunday in May, and some Australian cities hold events such as the Mother’s Day Classic, an amateur run or walk that raises money for breast cancer research. Serbia: Mother is celebrated on March 8, the date on which women are celebrated in Italy. During this day, children tie their mothers with ropes to a chair and release them only after paying a “ransom” in sweets or small gifts. Mexico: El Dia de la Madre, May 10th, is a very heartfelt holiday. Children stay home from school to be with their mothers, and as children grow up, it is common to take mothers out for lunch or dinner. Thailand: The holiday occurs on August 12, the birthday of Queen Mother Sirikit. Events and fireworks displays are organized to pay homage to the royal family and all Thai mothers, who receive traditional white jasmines symbolizing the candor of their love. United Kingdom: The protagonist of Mother’s Day is the cake. English mothers are honored with sweets and gifts, and one of the most rooted culinary traditions is the preparation of Simnel Cake, a fruit cake with two layers of marzipan, one inside and one on top of the cake. France: The holiday has no fixed date and is religious.

Flowers as a gift

Almost six out of 10 Italians (57%) have chosen to give plants and flowers as gifts for Mother’s Day, the floral gift being by far the most popular. This is what emerges from an online survey by Coldiretti on the occasion of the anniversary dedicated to all mothers. The “green” gift largely precedes clothing (8%), jewelery (6%) and sweets (3%), but there is also 26 percent who do not give gifts. The most trendy floral varieties this year are – explains Coldiretti – delphinium, calla lilies, roses, ranunculus, carnations, gerberas, together with the dimorphoteca. The advice is to purchase flowers and plants of national origin, even directly from the producer or in the farmers’ markets of Campagna Amica – continues Coldiretti – to be sure of putting a 100 percent Italian product in the vase, which supports the territories and respects the environment and employment, unlike foreign ones, often cultivated using child labor, as in the case of Kenyan roses.