С днём матери! – Mother’s Day in Russia 

С днём матери! – Mother’s Day in Russia 
22 November 2019

It is interesting how different countries have different dates for Mother’s Day! If you are Russian, then keep in mind, this Sunday, on the 24th of November, Mother’s Day is celebrated in Russia! On Mother’s Day people honor mothers and pregnant women, whereas on International women’s day, on the 8th of March, all women are celebrated. So, you might want to start thinking about what gift to buy for your mother or what surprise you want to organize for her. Mothers are power women, and although we should celebrate them every single day and not just on Mother’s Day, it is still another way to appreciate everything they do for us.

When is Mother’s Day celebrated in different countries?

In most countries Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May, however, in Russia, people celebrate Mother’s Day on the last Sunday in November. In Belarus, it is celebrated on October 14th, in Georgia on March 3rd and in most countries in the Arab world it is celebrated on March 21st, and so on. Every country has its own reasons for choosing its specific date.

Where does Mother’s Day come from? 

The very beginning of Mother’s Day celebration can be dated back to the spring celebrations in order to honor Rhea, the Mother of the Gods — in ancient Greek civilization. Later, in the United Kingdom, they celebrated Mothering Sunday, which was traditionally a day for people to visit the church where they were baptized. Today, the modern-day Mother’s Day can be originated back to two women in history — Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis. In 1870 Julia Ward Howe called for Mother’s Day to be celebrated each year. It was celebrated in Boston for about 10 years but died out after that. In 1907, Anna Jarvis held a private Mother’s Day celebration to honor her mother. A year later she managed to arrange a church service that attracted 407 children and their mothers. In 1912 a Mother’s Day International Organization was founded to promote the holiday in other countries as well. Mother’s Day has worldwide become very popular since then. Today, unfortunately, Mother’s Day, like Valentine’s Day, Christmas, etc. is a very commercialized holiday and companies, like gift shops, card companies, flower shops, jewelry stores, restaurants, hotels, etc. try to make the most profit out of it.

Mother’s Day in Russia 

Initially, Mother’s Day was never celebrated in Russia. But in the 1940s, this day became very popular among Russian women who started to rebel and demand equal rights. It was not until 1998 that, under the presidency of Boris Yeltsin, Mother’s Day was finally introduced to honor all mothers and pregnant women all over the country. The State Duma Committee on Women, Family and Youth actually initiated to establish this holiday. Today, as mentioned above, Russians celebrate Mother’s Day on the last Sunday in November. It is altogether an emotional day for every mother in Russia. Children make endless efforts to make this day joyful and memorable for their mother. They often want their mothers to sit back and relax, while they prepare delicious meals for them, thank them for everything they are doing for them, and give them gifts — young children often make handmade cards and write small quotes to express their feelings. Usually, the entire family gathers together, either goes out for dinner or eats at home.

Я люблю тебя, мама...; photo taken from: http://bibo.kz/pro-lubov/983881-ya-lyublyu-tebya-mama.html

Я люблю тебя, мама…; photo taken from: http://bibo.kz/pro-lubov/983881-ya-lyublyu-tebya-mama.html

So, if there are any Russians among you, keep in mind — Sunday is Mother’s Day and do not forget to prepare something for your mother. Although I am not Russian, I will call my mother on Sunday and thank her for being such an awesome mother! — In the end, we do not really need a special day in a year to realize how blessed we truly are. You can celebrate Mother’s Day every day!

Posted by Daniela Nuic

Daniela Nuic, Croatian/Bosnian from Austria, studied transcultural communication and is currently interning at Liden & Denz in St Petersburg.

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