Our saying “La mamma è sempre la mamma” is very accurate all over the world: Mother’s Day is celebrated in more than 50 countries, although not all of them celebrate it on the same day. It is interesting to notice, for example, how Eastern European countries celebrate it on the same day as Women’s Day, March 8th, while Western countries, including the rest of Europe, the US, and Canada celebrate it on the second Sunday of the month, just like Italy. An interesting exception is the UK, where this celebration occurs on the fourth Sunday in Lent.
But what are the origins of Mother’s Day? Interestingly, this occurrence, during which motherhood is celebrated in all its different forms, started and evolved in the United States. It all began when a woman called Anna Jarvis held a small memorial to honor her mother back in 1907, conceiving Mother’s Day as a way to recognize mothers’ sacrifices for their children. By 1912, after a significant writing campaign to newspapers and politicians, Mother’s Day had been recognized in several states and churches all over the US.
Some say that the celebration of motherhood could also be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, that held festivals to celebrate their goddesses. For example, "Lupercalia" was an ancient pagan festival held by Romans in the hope of more fertility in the upcoming years.
But now that we discussed the origins, it might be interesting to talk about this celebration in the present day. Did you know that Mother’s Day is one of the festivities driving more consumer spending? In the UK, for example, consumer spending for the celebration in 2021 was expected to reach about 1.34 billion pounds (Statista).
In the US, the National Retail Federation reported that this year American consumers were estimated to spend a record $35 billion, on average 274$ per person. This was the highest number recorded in US history. These numbers highly differ from the Italian ones, also due to the lower living costs: Italian were estimated to spend on average 36 euros per person. (Smshosting)
We hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day, and that next year you will know something more about this great celebration!