About Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a secular day for thanking mothers and the women who mothered us. India marks it on the second Sunday of May, the same day as the US, Canada and Australia, and in 2027 it falls on Sunday, 9 May 2027. It began with a church service in Grafton, West Virginia, in 1908, and it is not a public holiday in India.
India follows the American rule, so Mother's Day here always lands between 8 and 14 May, a few days before the International Day of Families on 15 May. Britain keeps a different day, in March or early April.
How did Mother's Day start?
The day grew out of one family in West Virginia. Ann Reeves Jarvis ran Mothers' Day Work Clubs to cut child deaths, and after the American Civil War she brought Union and Confederate families together.
She died in Philadelphia on 9 May 1905. Her daughter Anna held a small memorial at her mother's church in Grafton in 1907, and on 10 May 1908 the first official services took place there and at the Wanamaker store auditorium in Philadelphia. Anna sent 500 white carnations, her mother's favourite flower, to Grafton. Florists later added pink or red for a living mother and kept white for one who has died.
Six years of letter-writing followed. Congress passed a joint resolution on 8 May 1914, and President Woodrow Wilson signed the proclamation the next day, asking Americans to fly the flag on the second Sunday in May.
A public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.
Jarvis insisted on "Mother's", singular, so that each family would honour its own mother rather than mothers in general.
The founder who turned against her own day
Carnations that cost half a cent were selling at 15 cents within five years. By 1920 Jarvis was asking people to stop buying flowers. In 1925 she was arrested in Philadelphia while trying to stop Mother's Day carnation sales, and in the 1940s she collected signatures to have the day rescinded. She thought a printed card only proved you were too lazy to write to the woman who had done the most for you. She never had children, and she died nearly blind in a sanitarium in West Chester, Pennsylvania, on 24 November 1948.
Her point stands on a card site too. Use the messages below as a start, then change one detail so it could only come from you.
India's own ways of honouring mothers
Indian traditions revered mothers long before 1908, though rarely with a date for living mothers. The best-known line is a teacher's parting advice in the Taittiriya Upanishad.
Mātṛdevo bhava. Treat thy mother as a God.
Hindu families remember mothers who have died during Pitru Paksha; its ninth day, Navami Shraddha, is also called Matri Navami and is kept especially for a departed mother, grandmother or other women of the family. Some fasts run the other way, kept by mothers for their children, such as Ahoi Ashtami.
Families with roots in Nepal keep Mata Tirtha Aunsi, or Aama ko mukh herne din (the day to see your mother's face), on the new moon of Baisakh in April or May. Children bring their mothers sweets, clothes and gifts. Those whose mothers have died bathe and offer tarpan at Matatirtha Kunda, a pond on the south-western edge of Kathmandu.
Mother's Day dates around the world
If your mother lives abroad, or you do, check her date before you post.
| Where | When | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| India, US, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Japan, Brazil, South Africa | Second Sunday of May | Same day as India |
| UK, Ireland, Nigeria | Mothering Sunday, fourth Sunday of Lent | Three weeks before Easter, in March or early April |
| Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon | 21 March | First day of spring. Began in Egypt in 1956; often a working day |
| Mexico, Guatemala | 10 May | Mexico's date was set by the newspaper Excélsior in 1922 |
| Spain, Portugal | First Sunday of May | A week before India |
| France | Last Sunday of May | First Sunday of June if Pentecost clashes |
| Argentina | Third Sunday of October | Tied to a Catholic feast of Mary's motherhood |
| Thailand | 12 August | Birthday of Queen Mother Sirikit, who died in 2025; still a public holiday |
| Indonesia | 22 December | Hari Ibu, marking the first Indonesian Women's Congress, 1928 |
| Russia | Last Sunday of November | Late autumn |
| South Korea | 8 May | Parents' Day, for both parents |
Writing to a mother who says "every day is Mother's Day"
Plenty of Indian mothers answer a Mother's Day wish with "Why waste money?" Don't argue; she doesn't need to approve of the day for you to use it.
Be specific. "You are the best mother" is a slogan. "You sat up with me through every board exam with a flask of tea" is a memory she will recognise.
Write the way you talk to her. Use the word you call her, whether Maa, Mummy, Amma, Aai, Ba, Bebe or Ammi, in the language you speak at home.
Give her a day off, not a speech. Cook, and wash up afterwards. Or ask about her own mother and her childhood, which few people think to ask her about.
What to write, and to whom
Many of us were raised partly by a nani, a mausi, an older sister or a teacher. Thank them too.
Happy Mother's Day, Maa. I still fold my clothes the way you taught me at nine. Lunch today is mine to cook. You sit.
I know, you don't believe in these days. Thank you anyway, Amma. For all of it.
Happy Mother's Day, Mummy ji. Thank you for raising the kindest person I know, and for teaching me your rajma without holding anything back.
Happy first Mother's Day. You've learnt a whole new language in a few months, cry by cry. I'm bringing dinner on Saturday.
Happy Mother's Day. You did the fees, the homework, the hospital runs and the birthday parties on your own, and your children noticed every bit of it.
Happy Mother's Day, Nani. You never had to take me on, and you never once made me feel that you had.
Thinking of you and your mum today. I still remember her making all of us eat before we were allowed to leave. Call me if you want to talk about her.
For a single mother, leave the children's father out of it unless you know how she feels.
Someone grieving or estranged. The first Mother's Day after a death is often the hardest, and a feed full of tributes makes it louder. A short note that names her mother is kinder than silence; our condolence page helps after a recent loss. For someone estranged from their mother, "Thinking of you this weekend, no need to reply" is enough.
Someone hoping to become a mother. For a friend going through infertility, pregnancy loss or a long adoption wait, never send "Happy Mother's Day" or "your turn next". If she has told you, a private "I know today can be hard. I'm thinking of you" is plenty. If she hasn't, say nothing.
Gifts, cards and office etiquette
Many children first meet the day at school and come home with a handmade card, which still beats anything bought.
Do
- Call, even if you have sent a message. For a mother in another city, the call is the gift.
- Choose something for her, not for the house. A pressure cooker is for the family unless she asked for it.
- Book what she keeps putting off: an eye test, a knee check-up, a trip to see her sister.
Avoid
- Don't ask colleagues what they are doing for their mother. Some have lost her, some are estranged, some are trying for a child.
- Don't press anyone who doesn't mark the day. Plenty of families never have.
Fathers get their turn on Father's Day, the third Sunday of June.
How to wish someone on Mother's Day
A good Mother's Day message names something she actually did, not a list of virtues, and sounds like the way you talk to her. Many Indian mothers wave the day away as unnecessary, so a call, a cooked meal or a short line in your home language often means more than a long tribute. For a mother-in-law, thank her for something specific. For anyone grieving a mother, estranged, or hoping for a child, drop "Happy" and simply say you are thinking of them.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is Mother's Day in each year?
Mother's Day falls on a different date each year. In 2027 it falls 1 day earlier than in 2026.
- 2026
- 2027
- 2028
Frequently asked questions
Who started Mother's Day, and why is it in May?
Anna Jarvis of West Virginia started Mother's Day in memory of her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, who died on 9 May 1905. The first official services were held on 10 May 1908 in Grafton and Philadelphia, and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson fixed it on the second Sunday of May.
Why is Mother's Day in March in the UK but in May in India?
The UK keeps Mothering Sunday, an older church custom on the fourth Sunday of Lent, three weeks before Easter, so it moves between March and early April. India follows the American Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May, which always falls between 8 and 14 May.
When is Mother's Day in the UAE and other Arab countries?
Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon mark Mother's Day on 21 March, the first day of spring. The custom began in Egypt in 1956 after a campaign by the journalist Mustafa Amin, and because the date is fixed it often falls on a working day.
What should I say on Mother's Day to someone whose mother has died?
Leave out "Happy" and tell them you are thinking of them and their mother, ideally with one thing you remember about her. A short, specific message is kinder than a long one, and offering to listen helps more than advice.
How do I wish my mother-in-law on Mother's Day?
Call her what you call her to her face, whether Mummy ji, Amma or Aunty, and thank her for something specific, such as how she welcomed you or a recipe she taught you. Keep it warm and respectful, and add a wish for her health.
Does India have a traditional Mother's Day of its own?
Not as a single national date for living mothers. Hindu families remember mothers who have died on Matri Navami during Pitru Paksha, and families with Nepali roots honour living mothers on Mata Tirtha Aunsi, the new moon of Baisakh in April or May.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .