Spanish mothers will be pampered on Mother’s Day or “Día de la Madre” on Sunday, May 5 (2024). In Spain, Mother’s Day is always celebrated on the first Sunday in May, which differs, for example, from the Netherlands and Belgium where Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May (12 May 2024), except in Antwerp. It is celebrated every year on August 15.
Mother’s Day is celebrated in honor of motherhood, just as Father’s Day (in Spain around March 19) is celebrated in honor of fatherhood. In families that celebrate Mother’s Day, the day is all about pampering the mother. You usually get breakfast in bed and gifts and are exempt from chores (a bit old-fashioned, but still).
Honoring mothers is a much older tradition than modern Mother’s Day and dates back to the cult of the mother in Classical Greece. Formal mother worship with celebrations of Cybele or Rhea, the major mother of the gods, was practiced throughout Asia Minor in mid-March (the 15th day). The Catholic Church has a long tradition of venerating Mary, the mother of Jesus.
The holiday in its current form has spread from the United States to the rest of the Western world. This tradition began in the Netherlands and Belgium around 1925 and in Spain in 1965, although the authorities have never officially declared this day in Spain and it is merely a popular and commercial day.
all over the world
Mother’s Day is celebrated all over the world and on the same day in Spain, as are the peoples of Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal and Romania. The first Mother’s Day of the year is held on the second Sunday in February in Norway, followed by Mother’s Day between January 30 and March 1 in Israel. There is also Mother’s Day on or around March 3, March 8, the fourth Sunday in Lent, March 21, March 25, April 7, the first Sunday in May, May 8 and May 10.
Along with the Netherlands and Belgium (except Antwerp), the following countries also celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May: Anguilla, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Curacao, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Ecuador, Estonia, Philippines, Finland, Ghana, Grenada, Greece, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Croatia, Latvia, Malaysia, Malta New Zealand, Austria, Pakistan, Peru, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Czech Republic, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela, United States, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Switzerland. (View all dates and countries here)
Antwerp is different
American Mother’s Day was not yet known when Antwerp liberal artist and local councilor Frans van Kuyck introduced Mother’s Day in 1913 on August 15, the feast day of the Virgin Mary (Our Lady of the Virgin), the city’s patron saint ever since. 1124. It was the day of the great Marian procession. According to local councilors in Antwerp, the social order had been completely disrupted at the beginning of the century by radical modernization. His treatment: restoring family dignity and developing it.
According to Van Kuyk, everything had to be done to depict the role of the mother in the family and society. A special day seemed perfect style to him. Van Kuyk mobilized the local press and schools, published the script and formed a publicity committee for the work. The children and father had to surprise the mother with decorations, special verses, flowers, special sandwiches and even jewelry.
