In every country in the world there is a specific day to celebrate mothers, although the date is not always the same, as is the case in the United States and Mexico.
In Mexico, today is the celebration of Mother’s Day, as it is celebrated every year on May 10, unlike in the United States, where it is celebrated on the second Sunday of May, so this time it corresponds to May 12.
Why is Mother’s Day in Mexico different from the United States?
In the United States, the origin of Mother’s Day dates back to the early years of the 20th century, after Anna Jarvis began to commemorate her own mother, who had died in 1905.
Then President Woodrow Wilson officially declared Mother’s Day the second Sunday in May as a national holiday in 1914.
In Mexico, there are different theories about the emergence of this celebration. One of them says that the wife of a Methodist chaplain found a magazine where the celebration was mentioned and decided to take up the idea.
Another theory is that May is the month of the Virgin Mary and because in the past the 10th of each month was “payday” in Mexico, and that day was chosen so that Mexican families would always have money to spend on the celebration.
The truth is that the holiday arose from the initiative of a journalist, Rafael Alducín, who in 1922 was director of the newspaper Excélsior, one of the most important and recognized media in the country, and spread the importance of celebrating mothers.
Mexico was the first country in Latin America to celebrate Mother’s Day, and on May 10, 1949, one of the most important sculptures in the country’s capital, Mexico City, the Monument to the Mother, was inaugurated.
Said sculpture suffered serious damage during the earthquake of September 19, 2017, but was quickly restored and is located in the Art Garden of that city.