Mother’s Day: when and how it is celebrated

How an anti-war action became an all-Russian holiday – in the Kommersant information.

When is Mother’s Day celebrated?

Around the world, Mother’s Day is most often celebrated in the spring. In Spain and Portugal it falls on the first Sunday in May, in the United States, Japan and Canada on the second Sunday in May, and in France and Sweden on the last Sunday in May. In total, about 20 countries congratulate mothers in May.

In Russia, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the last Sunday of November in accordance with the decree of President Boris Yeltsin dated January 30, 1998 “On Mother’s Day”. The memorial date was established to “increase the social significance of motherhood.” In 2023, the holiday falls on November 26, in 2024 – on November 24, and in 2025 – on November 30.

history of the holiday

Mothers’ Day originated in the 16th century in Great Britain. On the Fourth Sunday of Lent, local residents visited the parishes where their mothers were baptized or where they attended as children. Over time, this day was called Mothering Sunday (Mother’s Sunday), and women and children began to be given gifts – daffodils and fruit pies with marzipan.

At the official level, the holiday was recognized for the first time in the United States. In September 1870, writer and suffragist Julia Ward Howe wrote an anti-war appeal to women around the world specifically for Woman`s Journal and proposed celebrating the holiday of mothers whose sons suffered from the war. The article was later called the “Proclamation for Mother’s Day.” The call was supported by Virginia civic activist Ann Jarvis, who fought against infant mortality. She organized Mother’s Day celebrations for the first time and invited Civil War veterans along with their mothers. Soldiers received invitations regardless of which side they fought on, and the main goal of such a holiday was considered to be the reconciliation of the North and South. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson honored the memory of the activists and recognized Mother’s Day as a national American holiday. It is celebrated every year on the second Sunday of May.

After World War I, Mother’s Day gained recognition in France: mothers of large families were given government awards for helping to rebuild the population starting in 1920. Later in Japan they began to separately congratulate mothers whose sons died during World War II.

In Russia, Mothers’ Day was first celebrated by members of the scout movement in December 1915. But it did not become national and was celebrated irregularly. Attempts to introduce Mother’s Day were also made in the USSR. In October 1988, Elmira Huseynova, a teacher of Russian language and literature from Baku, organized and held a school concert in honor of mothers. Many consider it the prototype of the modern holiday.

In September 1993, the President of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) was the first in Russia to recognize Mother’s Day as an official holiday. In the region it is celebrated on the third Sunday in October. Following the authorities of Yakutia, the holiday was introduced in Bashkortostan and the Chelyabinsk region.

In September 1997, the Russian State Duma Committee on Women, Family and Youth Affairs, headed by Alevtina Aparina, proposed introducing an All-Russian Mothers’ Day. Russian President Boris Yeltsin considered that the introduction of holidays was not within the competence of parliament and rejected the bill. However, in January 1998, he introduced Mother’s Day by his own decree – to “increase the social significance of motherhood.”

How to celebrate Mother’s Day

Since 2011, a social campaign “Mom, I love you” has been held in Russia on Mother’s Day. Volunteers hand out cards with a teddy bear and a forget-me-not to women and children. It is this flower that is considered a symbol of the holiday in Russia (carnations are more often used in the world). In November 2018, employees of the Russian National Guard joined the “Mom, I love you” campaign. About 10 thousand security officials signed postcards with forget-me-nots and department symbols to mothers.

The holiday is actively celebrated by users of social networks. Most often, they post photos with their mothers under the hashtags #thankyoumom and #mother’sday, but in November 2018, Russians changed traditions and published photos of themselves in warm clothes with the tag #mamayanashatku.