Mother's Day in Spain: Everything you need to know

In this post we are going to talk about why Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain, the date of Mother's Day in Spain in 2019, and the origins of Mother's Day in Spain.

Why is Mother's Day celebrated?

Mother's Day is a day that pays homage to our mothers for dedicating their time to us and always being by our side. This day is celebrated in honour of mothers all over the world. However, each country celebrates it on a different day and it has not always had the same significance throughout history as it does today.

This celebration originated in Ancient Egypt where they worshipped the goddess Isis, known as the Great Divine Mother. The same happened in Ancient Greece when they worshipped the Goddess Rhea, mother of the gods of Olympus, and they brought flowers to the temple. Afterwards, the Christians adapted it and dedicated the day to the Virgin Mary.

However, a large push for this celebration took place in 1872 in the United States, when the writer Julia Ward organised a rally in honour of mothers that had lost a child in the American Civil War.

Years later, Anna Jarvis carried out a national campaign to dedicate a day to all mothers. From then on, this woman has been considered the founder of Mother's Day. This initiative had so much success that, in 1914, the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, officially declared Mother's Day a national festival and would be celebrated on the second Sunday of May.

From this point onwards, other countries started to celebrate this day as well, but on different dates. For example, the United States, Germany and China celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May, which falls on the 12th this year. Other countries, like the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland celebrate it on the fourth Sunday of Lent. The last place to commemorate this day is Indonesia, who celebrates it on the 22nd of December.

In some countries, Mothers Day also coincides withInternational Women's Day on the 8th March.

The Origins of Mother's Day in Spain

In Spain, Mother's Day dates back to 1644 and was created in honour of the national festival of the Virgen of Immaculate Conception. Therefore, Mother's Day in Spain is celebrated on the 8th December.

After the official declaration of Mother's Day by Woodrow Wilson, they decided to separate the two celebrations. On one side, there would be the day of the Immaculate Conception, and on the other, Mother's Day in honour of maternity.

However, it was not until 1965 when Mother's Day was moved to the first Sunday in May as we know it today in Spain. They chose this month for religious reasons, as May is the month of the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. Despite this, nowadays Mother's Day has a more commercial character to it (because gifts are usually given) and has been popularised.

Mother's Day in Spain 2018 was celebrated on the 6th of May, and this year will take place on Sunday 5th May. This date also coincides with Mother's Day in other countries such as Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal and South Africa.

The Best Gifts for Mother's Day

After having explored the history of this day, let's see how it is celebrated in Spain.

Normally, it is a day to give gifts to your mothers. But, sometimes, we don't know what to give them and we return to the usual suggestions: flowers, perfume or sweets. If you want to be more original and surprise your mothers, don't miss our suggestions:

• Focus on the small details. Not everything about giving gifts relies on spending money, you can make your mothers the happiest in the world by doing a simple gesture, like bringing them breakfast in bed.
• Handmade Gifts. If you want to make something more elaborate and special, handmade gifts are the best solution. You can make them greeting cards, a collage with photos or a homemade dessert; have a look at these original handmade gifts for mothers to get many more ideas.
• Joint Presents. When you want to surprise her with something more expensive, like a new mobile phone, a new designer bag or a trip, you can sort something out with your dads or siblings to split the cost between you and give her something together.

There is no strict rules about what to give on this day; it all depends on your mother's taste (also pay attention to her needs) and how creative you want to be.

Plans on how to spend the day on Mother's Day

Mothers deserve the world and what better time to spend time with them and show them how much you appreciate everything they do for you.

You can organise many activities to celebrate this day, but here we have left some ideas for you to make it very special.

• Plan a family weekend away. To get mothers out of their routine and spend more time together, you can go to a spa, make a getaway to your favorite town or city and even go to a country house in the Sierra Nevada.
• A walk through nature. As the weather is ideal in May, you can organise an outdoor activity; for example, visit natural places such as Caminito del Rey (a nice walking trail) in Málaga, go hiking in the mountains or spend the day at the beach.
• Cultural Visits. Spain has many places declared as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, so it is a good occasion to dedicate the day to visit museums, historical places or monuments as beautiful as the Alhambra in Granada or the Aqueduct of Segovia.
• An Afternoon of leisure. If you prefer a more relaxing plan, it's the right time to watch a family movie (either at the cinema or at home), go to a concert or a theater show that you've wanted to see for some time. To add the golden touch, you can go to her favourite restaurant for dinner

As you can see, there are plans for everyone and every budget, it is a question of using your imagination.

A short conclusion

Although Mother's Day has a different meaning in every country, it is always a special occasion to value the hard work of our mothers when we are far away and the affection they always show. What would we do without them!

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