Mother's Day 2024, 2025 and further

View below the dates for (among others) Mother's Day 2024 and Mother's Day 2025.
You can also see on which day the holiday falls and how many days it is until this holiday.

Significance of Mother's Day 2024

Mother's Day is a holiday celebrated annually on the second Sunday of May. It is a day that commemorates motherhood and appreciates all mothers and mother-figures (including grandmothers, great-grandmothers, stepmothers, and foster mothers) as well as their contribution to society.

History of Mother's Day

The History of Mother's Day 2024 dates back to the 19th century, when women's peace groups in United States of America often tried to establish holidays and regular activities in favour of peace and against war. A common regular activity was the meeting of groups of mothers whose sons had fought or died in the American Civil War.

In 1868, Ann Jarvis, created a committee to establish a "Mother's Friendship Day" in order to reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War. There were several limited observances in the 1870s and the 1880s but none achieved recognition beyond that. At the time, Protestant schools in the United States already held many celebrations and In New York City, Julia Ward Howe led an anti-war observance (Mother's Day for Peace) on June 2, 1872 which was accompanied by a holiday nowadays known as Mother's Day Proclamation.

Several years later a Mother's Day observance on May 13, 1877 was held in Albion, Michigan over a dispute related to the temperance movement which celebrates Juliet Calhoun Blakeley who stepped up to complete the sermon of the distraught Rev. Myron Daughterty and because of her actions, her sons paid tribute to her each year and urged others to honour their mothers.

In the early 1880s, the Methodist Episcopal Church in Albion set aside the second Sunday in May to recognize the special contributions of mothers. In its present form, Mother's Day was established by Anna Jarvis with the help of John Wanamaker following the death of her mother, Ann Jarvis, on May 9, 1905. The official service was on May 10, 1908, and the next year the day was reported to be widely celebrated in New York.

Jarvis then campaigned to establish Mother's Day as a United States national holiday and then later as an international holiday. The holiday was declared officially by the state of West Virginia in 1910, and the rest of the states followed quickly.

Traditions of Mother's Day 2024

As a part of Mother's Day 2024 traditions, children send cards or gifts to their mother or mother figure or make a special effort to visit her. They take their mothers out for a festive lunch or dinner to show their gratitude. Some children even go all the way to cook their mothers large and elaborate dinners, thus giving their mothers a break from preparing food for the family.

The official flower presented to mothers on mother's day is the red carnation but it is also acceptable for a person to give just about any kind of flower. Another tradition involves displaying white carnation flowers on the grave of dead mothers. Other Common Mother's Day gifts are flowers, chocolate, clothing, jewellery and treats, such as a beauty treatment or trip to a spa. In the days and weeks leading to Mother's Day, many schools help their pupils to prepare a handmade card or small gift for their mothers.

When is Mother's Day 2024

Mother's Day is not a federal holiday and falls on the second Sunday of May. The date of the Holiday changes each year but always remains on a Sunday; consult the above table for exact dates.See besides 'Mother's Day' even more holidays, click on one of the links below.

View or download the 2024 calendar.

See also the 2024 Calendar.