What day do you celebrate Mother’s Day? The answer to that question depends upon where in the world you live. Or, it could be based on where your mother is currently living. Many countries celebrate Mother’s Day but not all of them do it on the same day.
This presents a dilemma for families who have relatives in more than one country. How do you know which Mother’s Day to celebrate? Do you use the one that matches with the country your mother lives in? What if that date isn’t the same one where you live?
Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May in the United States. That means that the exact date that Mother’s Day is recognized can change from one year to the next. Typically, it could be May 10, May 11, or May 12 in any given year.
Many families celebrate it by taking their mother’s out for lunch or dinner sometime during what is commonly thought of as “Mother’ Day weekend”. Mother’s Day cards are carefully selected, purchased, and sent out. Fresh bouquets of flowers are a frequently given gift.
Australia also celebrates Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May. Canada does, too. So, if your mother lives in the United States, or Canada, the day that Mother’s Day falls on will be the same. If you live in the United States, and your mother lives in Australia, your calendars won’t quite match up (due to the time zones). If you celebrate it a day early, it will be the correct day for your mother who is in Australia.
In the United Kingdom, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in Lent. In short, this means that Mother’s Day in the UK does not have a fixed date. It will be on a Sunday, but that Sunday could fall anywhere between March and April. Ireland uses the same calculation to determine when Mother’s Day is celebrated.
In order to determine when Mother’s Day will be in the United Kingdom and Ireland, you first must figure out when Lent will be. Lent is “the forty-day liturgical season of fasting and prayer before the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday”. It is a Christian observance that takes place about six weeks before Easter Sunday. The exact starting date of Lent can move every year, therefore, so can the date that Mother’s Day is celebrated in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Image by Jim the Photographer on Flickr.