CAIRO – Mother's Day is overlooking, flower shops are decorating it, offers and discounts on mothers' gifts are heaped in, social media pages are full of congratulations, and the sound of television and radio is louder with Fayza Ahmed's famous song "Set Al-Habayeb Ya Habiba".

In this report, we monitor the dates and customs of Mother's Day in the world, and take a historical look at its idea and the first beginnings of its emergence.

Mother's Day. Historical overview

Mother's Day began in 1872, when American author Julia Ward Hoy called for it to alleviate the suffering of the American people who had suffered the horrors of a civil war that had ended a few years earlier.

In 1907, an American woman named Anna Jarvis successfully promoted the idea of celebrating the day as a national occasion, and in just 5 years, all cities in the United States celebrated it.

In 1914, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother's Day an official national holiday, and celebrations spread to most countries of the world.

Celebration of Mother's Day began in 1872 at the invitation of Julia Word to alleviate the suffering of the horrors of the American Civil War (Getty Images)

Dates and ritualsof the celebration

The dates of Mother's Day celebrations vary from one country to another, and the following are the dates and ceremonies of some peoples:

  • Egypt was the first Arab country to celebrate Mother's Day in 1956, and most Arab countries still celebrate it on March 21 each year, the beginning of spring. Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria celebrate it on the last Sunday of May every year.
  • The people of Sweden celebrate Mother's Day on the last Sunday in June, a public holiday in the country, and France celebrates it on the first Sunday of June, and the celebration includes families having dinner together and making sweets for mothers.
  • The United States celebrates May 2, a public holiday, and the Mexican people celebrate the day on the tenth of May.
  • In Ethiopia, the celebration lasts from two to three days immediately after the end of the winter season, with South Africa, Canada and Australia celebrating on the second Sunday of May.
  • Japan organizes the "Mom" exhibition, which includes children's drawings of their mothers, as well as the touring exhibition every 4 years, and the fourth day of "Lent" for Christians is the day of celebration of Mother's Day in both England and Ireland.
  • Spanish people celebrate Mother's Day on the eighth of December, which is associated with the Church's veneration of the Virgin Mary. Yugoslavia celebrates it on the first Sunday of December, and the festivities last 3 days.
  • Finally, the holiday in India lasts 10 days in October and is called Darja Barja, the name of a saint in Hindu beliefs, who is tall and has 10 arms, with a weapon in each arm to eradicate evil.

Highlights of the celebration in different countries by means of flowers and gifts (Getty Images)

Roses & Sweets

The most prominent ceremonies in different countries are to bring roses and gifts and prepare sweets and cakes, and some countries are distinguished by distinctive ceremonies such as Australia, whose people wear white to honor the deceased mother, and other colors to celebrate mothers who are still alive.

As for the Yugoslav people, on the first day of the celebration, fathers tie up the children and release them as soon as their allegiance is confessed, on the second day the children tie their mothers up to give them sweets and gifts, and on the third day the children celebrate Father's Day, tie the father and then release him after he gives them his promise to buy new clothes.