Mothers are the core of all existence, and celebrating them has been around since the ancient Egyptian and Roman cultures. With Mother’s Day here, it’s time to take a look at the origin and history of Mother’s Day in the Middle East and around the world as well!
The dates on which mothers are celebrated around the world differ from one country to the other. However, there are some countries that celebrate on the same day. But, when did celebrating Mother’s Day start?
Origins of Mother’s day
People mostly think that Mother’s Day celebrations began in the West, but they actually started in Egypt! It’s true that the ancient Greeks celebrated their Mother of Gods, Rhea, yearly. However, the pharaohs started honoring mothers first. As part of their traditions, a yearly festival was held to honor the best mother and wife, the goddess Isis.
However, Mother’s Day resurfaced in the modern-day thanks to Anna Jarvis in 1908. Jarvis’ mother passed away in 1905. On the second anniversary of her death in 1907, Jarvis tried to honor her mom and held a service in her mom’s name at church. From there on, Jarvis decided to try and establish her mom’s death anniversary as a national Mother’s Day. She spread the word of Mother’s Day across the US and around the world. She eventually succeeded in making May 10th an official holiday and a national Mother’s Day in the USA in 1914. To this day, Jarvis is considered to be the Mother of Mother’s Day.
Mother’s Day Around the World!
Jarvis’ legacy evolved and Mother’s Day became May 2nd of each year, according to the United Nations. Aside from the US, many other countries have adopted the same date to celebrate Mother’s Day. Such countries are Greece, Ghana, Germany, China, Brazil, Pakistan, Switzerland, and more! The total number of countries that celebrate on the second Sunday of May is 68.
Meanwhile, other countries and regions have adopted their own day to put their moms on pedestals and appreciate them. For example, 19 countries celebrate Mother’s day on March 8, which is chosen to coincide with Women’s International Day. Those countries include Russia, Albania, and Bulgaria. Meanwhile, Afghanistan celebrates on June 14 and Argentina celebrates on the third Sunday of October!
Furthermore, there are 19 countries in the Middle East that celebrate Mother’s day on March 21. Celebrating that day was initiated by the Egyptian journalist, Mustafa Amin when in 1956, Al Ahram newspaper published that it’s celebrating mothers on that day. Since then, the tradition has stuck and many other Arab countries have adopted the date, such as Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, more, and even Mauritania.
No matter what country you’re in, or what day you’re officially celebrating, for Scoop Empire, every day is Mother’s Day. Show your mothers how grateful you are and love them!
