Let's say...: I love you Mummy!

As the day in the calendar sets aside for appreciating everything our mums do for us, it’s worth wondering: when did we start celebrating Mother’s Day? Surprisingly, the UK and US Mother’s Day traditions have completely different origins.

In the UK Mother’s Day is always held on the fourth Sunday of the Christian festival of Lent.

The custom came about because this was traditionally when those who had moved away for work would come back and visit their ‘mother church’ and their own mothers, which is also why we often refer to it as Mothering Sunday.

In the USA, Mother's Day is held on the second Sunday of May.

The celebration started when an activist called Anna Jarvis held a service in May 1908 to honour the sacrifices individual mothers made for their children. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

When do other countries celebrate the day?

Many other countries celebrate Mother's Day at different times of the year.

Australia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and Belgium all use the second Sunday in May as the date for celebrating mothers.

But in Mexico, and many parts of Latin America, Mother's Day is celebrated on 10 May each year, with Mexicans marking it via the "Día de las Madres" every year.

In the Middle East, the celebration first started in Egypt in 1956. It is now celebrated on the first day of spring.

Meanwhile in Thailand, Mother’s Day is always celebrated in August on the birthday of the current queen.

In Poland there is a fixed date for Mother’s Day – 26^th of May every year since 1914, when it was first celebrated in Kraków.

How do Poles celebrate this special occasion?

This heart-warming holiday spread very quickly and became a nation-wide celebration of the effort mothers put into bringing up their children.

Women in Poland, like many women across the globe, need to combine and balance their professional development with family life.

Polish children are encouraged to make DIY gifts for their mums and the most popular one is a handmade greeting card, a small gift or a lovely picture. They usually depict flowers, hearts, butterflies, etc.

Usually schools and kindergartens prepare special performances for mothers, sometimes for practical purposes merged with Father’s Day celebrations. They may include song recitals, talent shows, short plays and so on.

Mother's Day is also a day to honour other mother figures, such as grandmothers, stepmothers and mothers-in-law. Grateful children make a special effort to visit their moms. They take cards and gifts to her and may treat her to brunch, lunch or afternoon tea in a cosy cafe.

Common Mother's Day gifts are specially decorated cakes, flowers, chocolates, jewellery and some clothing items available in many stores, which even offer nice discounts on that dayJ.

How do you show your MUM that you love her?????