Mother’s Day is celebrated today

Today is Mother’s Day

Every year, on the first Sunday of May, Portugal celebrates the Mother’s Day.

In Portugal, Mother’s Day began in the 1950s, when the Portuguese Women’s Youth decided to establish the day in our country, choosing December 8th to celebrate it.

Although it began to be celebrated on December 8th, the date was changed in the 70s, to the 1st Sunday in May in honor of the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ.

Mother’s Day is celebrated in different countries, although on different days. For example, in the United Kingdom it is celebrated three weeks before Easter Sunday, in Australia, Canada, Brazil and the United States, it is celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of May and in Spain, as in Portugal, it is celebrated on 1st Sunday in May.

In China, the day is celebrated on the 2nd Sunday of May and the carnation is the most popular gift.

Origin of the day

The origin of the creation of Mother’s Day dates back to classical antiquity. In Ancient Greece and Rome, the origins of this celebration date back to spring celebrations. If in ancient Greece, the entry of spring was celebrated in honor of Rhea, mother of the gods, on the other hand, the Romans, at the beginning of March, paid homage for three days to Cybele, the mother of all the gods (with the ceremonies in her tribute began to be celebrated around 250 years before the birth of Christ).

The first country to make the date official was the United States of America, in 1914. The initiative came from Annie Jarvis, who after losing her mother in the Civil War, fell into depression. Annie thought that hers and all other American mothers deserved a tribute and started a campaign to establish the date.

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