Mother’s Day 2023: Why is it celebrated on different dates in US, UK, Australia and Mexico?

Different dates to celebrate Mother’s Day in US, UK, Australia and Mexico are tied to some religious connotations and orders from the past governments of these countries.

Mother’s Day in UK

In UK, Mother’s Day is marked on the fourth Sunday of the Christian festival of Lent to pay gratitude to all the doting mothers across the world. Traditionally, it is a day when Christians were encouraged to visit their “mother church.” Nowadays, the day is recognized as a sign of family reunions, especially for the children who stay away from home to come and greet their mothers. However, now the style of celebration of Mother’s Day in the UK walks on the footprints of the US’ Mother’s Day style of celebration and bombarding mothers with hampers, flowers, and gifts has become a trend.

Mother’s Day in US

US’ Mother’s Day is not associated with any religious background, instead, it came into existence in 1914 only after a campaign was launched by Anna Jarvis, an American woman whose mother died in May. Then President Wilson established the foundation of Mother’s Day in America after making the announcement that it will be held every year on the second Sunday of May and indicated it as a “public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” However, the commercialisation of the holiday and fading of the sentiments related to it have caused worry for Jarvis and at a point, she wished to drop the idea of Mother’s Day. Australia and many other nations also observe the day on the same date as the US.

Mexico’s Mother’s Day

May 10 is the fixed date of Mother’s Day in Mexico. In 1922, Rafael Alducin, a newspaper editor, wrote an article on the benefits of Mother’s Day celebrations in one of the columns of Mexico city’s newspaper El Excelsior. The article received support from the media and Catholic Church asked Mexicans to choose a date on their own and the final date came out to be 10 May.

FAQs:

1. When is Mother’s Day in the UK?
   19 March
2. Do US and Australia celebrate Mother’s Day on the same date?
   Yes. Every year on the second Sunday of May.