Mother’s Day is celebrated in 40 countries around the world. In every country, this day is celebrated solely for the purpose of honoring and giving appreciation to their mothers. However, it is surprisingly celebrated differently in most of these countries.
Take these four countries for example:
United Kingdom
United States
France
Mexico
Each one of these four countries Celebrates this day by giving their mothers gifts and having a meal with them. The main point of this day in all of these countries is to show their appreciation for their mothers.
However, there are some contrasts in how or when this day is celebrated between these countries.
For example, in the UK Mother’s Day is more commonly called “Mothering Sunday” because it used to be a day where families would return to their home town and attend church. At this time when they visited home, they would bring a gift to their mother. Now, it is celebrated very similar to the way it is celebrated in the United States. In the U.S, Mother’s Day is a day for people to show their appreciation to their mothers by making efforts to see her and gather for a meal with family members and if they cannot see their mother, cards are usually sent by mail. Mother’s usually receive small gifts on this day.
In France, Mother’s Day is celebrated the last sunday of May. The tradition is that the mother is presented with a cake that looks like a bouquet of flowers after the traditional family dinner. In Mexico, this day is also celebrated on a different day from the UK and U.S. In a way, Mother’s Day starts the night before.The mother’s kids will typically come home that night to sleep at home and celebrate Mother’s Day the next day.
What if you are currently visiting or living in a country that doesn’t celebrate Mother’s Day?
Is it appropriate to celebrate Mother’s Day with your mom in that country that does not recognize the day? Or should you forget about the day for the time you are there?
These are the types of things that third Culture kids, cross cultural kids, foreign service kids, military brats, missionary kids, global nomads, etc. have to think about.
