When is Mother's Day 2024? Here's why we celebrate
Mother's Day is coming soon. Here's some extra info on your yearly chance to celebrate your love and appreciation for the woman who raised you.
What day is Mother's Day this year?
Mother's Day falls on the second Sunday of May every year. This year, the date is Sunday, May 12.
More: When is Mother's Day? The when, how and why we celebrate the mother figures in our lives.
When did Mother's Day start?
Time magazine names two "parents" of Mother's Day: President Woodrow Wilson, who signed a proclamation in 1914 that declared the second Sunday of May “a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country," and Anna Jarvis, a copywriter and activist who began the movement that led to his signature.
May 10, 1908, is considered now to be America's first Mother's Day celebration. It was that date on which Jarvis sent 500 white carnations to Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in her hometown of Grafton, West Virginia, in honor of her late mother Ann, and held a celebration in Philadelphia, where she lived at the time.
Jarvis's original inspiration was her own mother's desire for a date on which to celebrate mothers. However, Time points out that evidence suggests Jarvis's mother Ann had likely meant a "Mothers' Day," meaning a day on which mothers would gather to provide yearly service to other mothers who were less fortunate than they were.
Is Mother's Day celebrated on the same date around the world?
Mother's Day exists in many countries, but is celebrated on different dates – and in different ways – around the world. Many countries use the same date as the US. In others including the UK, the holiday takes place in March, based around Christian observance of Lent. "Mothering Sunday" takes place on the fourth Sunday of Lent, which is three weeks before Easter Sunday.
Some countries including Russia, Vietnam and Afghanistan mark the occasion on International Women’s Day on March 8. In France, Mother's Day generally falls on the last Sunday of May, but is moved to the first Sunday of June if it would otherwise fall on Pentecost day.
Some traditions are particularly noticeable in their differences with US celebrations. Thailand, according to History.com, celebrates Mother's Day on August 12, the birthday of Queen Mother Sirikit. In Ethiopia, families celebrate motherhood with a three-day feast called Antrosht.
Greg Gieson, Delaware News Journal, contributed to this report.
Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at iseason@citizentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Mother's Day 2024 date, history of Mother's Day
