Mother's Day Around the World

Mother's Day is not celebrated on the same date in all countries. In fact, some countries, such as Ethiopia, do not celebrate Mother's Day at all.

Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia and Belgium celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May, just like the United States.

In Cameroon, Mother's Day is celebrated on the last Sunday in May. On that day, mothers are chosen to lead the worship service in Lutheran churches. Please click here to read a poem honoring mothers, written by Mrs. Gawole for the Lutheran Hour Ministries office in Cameroon.

In Mexico, Mother's Day is celebrated on May 10th. It is very common for mothers to be serenaded the night before with mariachis or other types of music. In schools, children prepare dances, poems, songs, plays and presents to honor their mothers. It is a popular day to treat mother to a dinner out or for someone else to prepare a special dinner at home.

In Egypt, Lebanon and most other Arab nations, Mother's Day is celebrated on the 21st of March. Families usually gather for a special celebration and give gifts to their mother to honor her. In Egypt, an "ideal mother" is selected and honored for that year. Click here for some verses from a poem honoring mothers by Hafez Ibrahim, or click here for a poem written by Mumtaz Nathan from our Lutheran Hour Ministries office in Egypt.

Both Argentina and India celebrate Mother's Day in October. In Argentina, it is the second Sunday of the month, while in India a 10-day festival is held in honor of mothers in early October.

Mother's Day is celebrated on December 22nd in Indonesia. It is common to send flowers or clean the house for mother on this day. A special dinner is prepared to honor her as well.

In Taiwan, the flowers most often associated with Mother's Day are the carnation and day lily. It is common to wear flowers representing one's mother, red if their mother is alive and white if their mother has passed away. Some people wear two flowers, one for their own mother and one for their mother-in-law.

MOTHER
A Mother's Day poem from the Philippines

You have always been the best
Mother that you can be
You shower us love that we need
You gave up your smile or life
Just for our sake
And you taught us to stand up
Every time we fall.

You have always been our light
When darkness sets in
When everyone's sad, your consoling
Words we hear,
You offer us great understanding
When others cannot
And Mama I love you so much, if
You know not.

I love you Mum
By Gawole Akpezo (Cameroon)

If you didn’t teach me to live in piety,
I would be living in debauchery.
If you didn’t show me that Christ is the way,
I wouldn’t be living in truth and wouldn’t have life
If you didn’t teach me to pray,
My destiny would have been into astrologers’ hands.

You taught us to work hard in life,
To always seek for excellence.
You showed us that in spite of your career,
You know how to handle with your duties at home.
You are and will always be a model for us
And a source of inspiration for the future.

It is an honour and a privilege to call you: "Mum"
And earnestly, we only want your happiness.
We want to see you always happy
Because in Christ, you are a blessed woman
We want to be for you a source of joy.
From the deepest of my heart, I love you Mum.

By Hafez Ibrahim

The mother is a special garden
whence the water flow inside
Green pasture will grow in sight
Bearing fruits that will never die

The mother is a special school
taking care of us since the womb
Mighty nations are the graduates
Goodness marking all their ways
Reminding us to daily see
how great mothers can be

Dear Mom,
By Mumtaz Nathan

M is for making me do my homework
O is for often telling me you love me
T is for teaching me to be my own person
H is for helping me to help myself
E is for everything you do for me
R is for rescuing me when I'm stuck
...and so much more!

I Love You Always,
mumtaz