Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of every May to honour motherhood and pay homage to mothers who have and continue to inspire us all. It is believed that the bond between a mother and her child is the strongest, and Mother’s Day appreciates the same.

The contribution of a mother in the lives of her children is immense and though a single day is never going to be enough to thank her for the love and commitment, it is essential to acknowledge the same and make them feel special. On this occasion, a number of schools hold programmes involving students and their mothers. This year, the occasion falls on May 12.

History

Back in 1908, a lady named Anna Jarvis held a memorial for her mother at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia (where the International Mother’s Day Shrine is held) after her mother passed away in 1905. She earlier had started a campaign to recognise Mother’s Day as a holiday in the United States.

The request to make the day a holiday was denied initially but owing to the efforts of Jarvis, who was a peace activist and worked on public health issues, by 1911, all US states started observing the holiday. American statesman and lawyer Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating the second Sunday in the month of May as a national holiday to honour mothers in 1941.

While UK celebrates it on the fourth Sunday of March in memory of Mother Church on Christian Mothering Sunday, there are also other nations that have associated the day with motherhood. In Greece, the day honours motherhood with the Eastern Orthodox celebration of the presentation of Jesus Christ to the temple. According to the Julian calendar, the occasion is marked on February 2. In most Arab countries, the day is celebrated on March 21, which is the Spring equinox. Some Catholic countries observe it on the Virgin Mary Day. However, in most ex-communist countries instead of Mother’s Day, International Women’s Day is commemorated.