The first Sunday of May in Spain is the day that mothers are honored and thanked for the work they do for the family. For one day the mother becomes the most pampered in the house and is entertained with gifts and celebrations. What is the origin of this celebration? It is true that in recent years, as with many other festivities (Father’s Day, Christmas, …) it has acquired a very important commercial character, but it was not always like that . Quite the opposite.
It is known that the first celebrations of Mother’s Day took place in ancient Greece. At that time they were honoring Rhea, the mother of the main Hellenic gods . The Romans embraced this custom and later the Catholics would also do so, who honored the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. They dated it December 8, onomastics of the Immaculate Conception.
The old mother: one honors the divinity
He began a campaign to institutionalize the day and it was in 1914 that President Woodrow Wilson established that the second Sunday in May would be celebrated as Mother’s Day in the United States. From then on, the rest of the countries adopted this day according to their calendar.
It is curious that both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day had similar origins. In both cases it was a daughter who wanted to honor them as a sign of gratitude and who worked to get her institutionalized that day. The two festivities have their more modern origins in the United States.
Mother’s day in Spain
In Spain, Mother’s Day was celebrated on December 8 , following the Catholic tradition that it coincided with the Immaculate Conception, in honor of the mother of Jesus Christ. It must be borne in mind that the Catholic bond still survives in the case of Father’s Day, which is celebrated on March 19, the day of Saint Joseph, the name day of the father of Jesus Christ.
It was in 1965 when it was decided to change the celebration date and move it to the first Sunday in May. After all, this is the Marian month, the month of flowers, the month of the Virgin. Almost all countries decided that the mother should be honored this month, which also means rebirth with the arrival of good weather .
Celebration with mom
Since its inception, the celebration of Mother’s Day has had a certain religious character, something that was reinforced by making it coincide with a Sunday or, in the case of Spain, one of the most important religious onomastics of the year. The usual thing was that the family attended Mass together and after it the children made a gift to the mother. Then all together they participated in a meal.
At first these gifts were wild flowers collected on the way home or some improvised craft by the smallest of the house. In recent years, the purchase of gifts has been extended and today it has ended up becoming a commercial party in which what prevails is the present that is given to the mother and the component of gratitude that is left aside. they have the celebration itself.