- In the United States and Western Europe, breakfast in bed or a special Mother's Day brunch are popular ways of showing moms appreciation. Store bought or home made cards are also quite popular. Mother's Day is quite commercialized, as are many other holidays.
- The country of India has only begun celebrating Mother's Day, with the holiday growing in popularity over the last decade, as a result of globalization and the appropriation of the holiday. Mothers have a special place in Indian society, and the holiday is used to provide mother's a break from their domestic duties. Meals are made and cards purchased for mothers, and the commercialized fervor present in North America is quickly catching on in India as the Indian media hypes up the holiday.
- Mother's Day in Ireland has a very long history, dating back to Medieval times when Mothering Sunday was celebrated. Children who were sent away to acquire work or educations in trades were able to visit with their mothers once a year, and while the custom fell out of favor for a long period of time, it was revitalized and transformed after World War II. Today, mothers are lavished with flowers, cards, dinners, and special programming that is designed with mom in mind.
- Globalization has spread Mother's Day to New Zealand, but the holiday is celebrated in a very unique way: individuals purchase gifts and acknowledge all family members and friends who are mothers, not just their own mother! Mothers are celebrated with special dinners, picnics, and several types of gifts. This day truly is a day for mothers who are exempt from any typical "mom" duties.
- In South Africa, carnations are used to symbolize the status of one's mother. Red and pink refer to living mothers, while white carnations are meant to symbolize mothers who have passed away. And like in New Zealand, mothers are all types are recognized and treated special.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Global Perspectives of Mother's Day
In honor of the upcoming holiday, I wanted to take a moment to discuss Mother's Day. This holiday is a popular one not only in the USA but all over the world with every country practicing some form of Mother's Day. There are some fundamental differences, however, as not every country celebrates it on the same day (several countries and cultures celebrate it in March) or in similar fashions. The following are some ways that Mother's Day is celebrated cross-culturally:
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33 comments:
It's very interesting to learn about how different cultures celebrate Mother's Day. In my family, Mother's Day is celebrated very much as it is celebrated in New Zealand. We celebrate all of the women in our lives that take on a motherly role. My aunt has no children, but we celebrate and thank her for her role in our lives. I celebrate my sisters and the role they play in my children's lives. We pamper our mother and happily accept our home made gifts from our children. We treat Father's Day the same way.
I agree with April, it is very interesting to learn how the mother's day traditions vary around the world. Mothers day did always seem to be a morning brunch and exchange of home made arts and crafts along with hallmark cards filled with foot/back rub coupons inside them. A ton of advertising goes into Mothers day. I view them as a good thing because it always made shopping for Mom as a young kid a lot more affordable.
It is very interesting to see that most of the cultures around the world celebrate mother's day in some form. Mother's day in my Mexican culture is as important as Christmas. We celebrate every single mom in our family. It usually consist of the whole family getting together and having a big celebration with a mariachi, which is a band that plays folk music. We lavish our mother's with flowers and cards and she gets to take a day off from all that she does for her family.
It is very interesting to see that most cultures celebrate Mother's Day in some form. Being raised in a Mexican culture, Mother's Day to us is as important as Christmas. It's a day where every mother in our family gets lavished with gifts, flowers and cards. A big Mother's Day Celebration is planned with a Mariachi band who plays folk music. Our mother get's a day free of chores. As Catholic's we also make sure we take flowers to the Virgin Mary and also have a celebration for her at church.
Mother's Day is only one of the special days that is celebrated. my children and I used to do lots of things for my mother every Mother's Day. We used to bring her flowers, make her cards, make her cookies, and not let her do any chores around the house. Since 2010, though, she wants none of us to celebrate Mother's Day for her. She tells us that she doesn't feel like she deserves it anymore, since she allowed for her son to pass. I keep telling her that he is up there celebrating it for her. Mothers are important all over the world. Some are more deserving than others. My mother has raised ten kids and now has 21 grandkids. She deserves a day of celebration of her. If it was not for women in this world, there would be no children, and no mothers to raise those children into wonderful adults. Mother's Day should be a happy time, not a sad and mourning one.
I always love seeing holidays and special occasions meant to honor the women and mothers in our lives! In this post, I found it especially interesting to read the portion about how Mother’s Day has only recently become popularized in India. After having recently read in our textbook about the dowry women’s families pay to the family of the husband, and how this tradition reinforces their belief that women are seen as a burden, I can only assume that perhaps this perspective is beginning to change and that perhaps the stigmatism is gradually lifting.
Another point of interest in this post for me was how deeply rooted the Mother’s Day tradition is in Ireland. Learning about the once a year visitation rule just about threw me out of my seat! It is very difficult to wrap my head around this thought, but when taking a step back I assume that it is probably just a bit of ethnocentrism rearing its head. I must assume that there is a perfectly good explanation as to why such a restriction had been put in place.
Lastly, I absolutely adore the significance placed upon carnations and their relation to mothers in South Africa. This holds a special meaning to me personally, as my mother is a daylily hybridizer and I will be sharing this information with her here shortly, as I know she will really get a kick out of it.
-Brian Ball
I was adopted out to a wonderful family when i was 8 yrs old, but i am fortunate to have known and still know both moms. So mothers day holds a special place in my heart and is a logistics nightmare. Unfortunately my adopted mother had a brain tumor on her frontal lobe back in 1991 and has not been the same since. I have seen a wonderful bright woman who taught high school students every class imaginable degrade into a person who is barely aware of her surroundings and can only answer yes or no questions. On top of that due to economic hardships i have not been able to see her for 15yrs. It is difficult communicating with someone like that especially when you know that it is a struggle to express themselves like they used to. My birth mom actually lives within northern Nevada and i have spent the last 30yrs getting to know her. I like the fact that India women get a break on mothers day as it should be.
I'm glad a lot of cultures are adopting Mother's Day! It is an extremely important day, especially for a first time mother. Mothers are appreciated as they always should be and usually given gifts or a day at the spa. They deserve every spoiled treatment you give to them even if it's not Mother's Day. It is your mother, she gave birth to you, you should respect her every day of the year.
Zachary Forrester
anthro 101 3001 summer
Everyday should be mother's day. Mother's make it happen. We've been studying gender and the one role that cannot be replaced is a caregiver to children. After childbirth a male can take over the care of children and they should be honored too. The care, mentally and physically, of children is the most undervalued, difficult, and important role anyone does. Cheers to all caregivers, everyday, because without them we'd all be dead or wild animals (actually, not a bad alternative)!
Paige Stevenson
Anthro 101
Well not much more can be said than what was i the previous post except i have recently gotten back in touch with my birth mom after being away for 5 yrs. I will be spending Thanksgiving with her and her significant other. I have not been able to get a hold of my adopted mother for quite some time since 2000 but know where she resides.
I remember reading in our textbook "Cultural Anthropology" that in Native American cultures, mothers and fathers are not labeled by just their biological significance, but what actions and significance they hold in others lives. When reading about New Zealand, this correlated with Native American culture, which is not just celebrated for those who are true "mothers". I think its important to remember that many mothers are also surrogate mothers or also adoptive mothers. There also many women who foster children for many years and also take the role as mothers. Anthropology has taught me that even though motherhood is taken differently in many cultures, it is more of the role that the said "mother" plays, rather than blood or ethnic similarities.
Being Hispanic, Mother's Day is a very big deal. It's custom to buy flowers and take care of the mothers in your family that day with a feast. My grandma loves being traditional, so we have kept up with doing this. We all go to mass with her then have a big family bbq were the mothers get to relax for the day.
I love Mother's Day because it allows us to show our mothers how much we appreciate them and love them! (Granite, we should be doing this everyday, but having one special day out of the year makes it fun!) It is interesting how different cultures has different traditions on how they celebrate Mother's Day.
Its interesting to see how other cultures have adopted western holidays. Many cultures have days set aside to respect their elders as well.
Striking to see how mothers (or mothering) has been and continues to be celebrated today! I tended to shrug off commercialized holidays as a byproduct of a dismissive view toward globalization.
Globalization, however, I feel holds the promise of the interchange of pleasant customs and traditions. Commercialization, though generally seen as an evil, can perhaps be seen as a non-forceful measure of enforcing globalized standards against human rights violations, for instance. Perhaps in the not too distant future, we might see Hallmark imposing moratorioms in order to make statements against femicide (or other societal ills/human rights violations) a la Google, Apple, NBA, etc. in North Carolina.
Mother's day to my family and I always meant celebrating every mother in our family. Without them, I wouldn't be here. Mothers and fathers deserve more than just one day out of the year to be celebrated though it may be hard to do daily. My mother constantly reminds me that mothers in the wild eat their young so I should be grateful, don't worry, I am.
Mothers day should be celebrated every where in every religion and every culture. Moms need to be appreciated for everything they have did and giving birth. I always try to do something nice for the woman who made me on mothers day because without her I wouldn't be here.
After reading this article this is one good benefit of globalization. We get to see how people are celebrated and commutated. I think that all cultures should celebrate the mothers in every society
Ashley Jacobson
I enjoy holidays intended to honor women. Mothers are a very important portion of everyone’s culture and should be celebrated every day.
It's fascinating to see how Mother's day is celebrated in different countries, all moms deserve to know they are appreciated for everything they do.
-Monique McAllister
Mother's Day is such a day that I cherish when it comes to my mother because my mother is my best friend. Honoring the women that help us daily and recognizing all the things our mothers go through to have us in this world is definitely worth a day of celebration.
It is wonderful to know most places around the world celebrate their mothers in some way. I am very happy to hear, as a mother, that Indian men and women are starting to practice the holiday! That is very neat that history of Mothers Sunday, that definitely shows a cultural importance of mothers. My favorite idea is New Zealand's, where all mothers are celebrated, not just your own! :)
Its cool to learn about how other cultures celebrate Mother's Day! Also i had no idea that different cultures had Mother's Day on different days.
its great to know that its not just our culture that acknowledges mothers/ soon to be mothers. and have a day set just for mothers to be appreciated.
Mother's day is a big holiday for me because I was raised by my mother and grandmother. My family's culture is sort of similar to New Zealand's culture of buying gifts for all the mother's in the family. Although I am in college and I do not see my mother as often as I would like I could not imagine only seeing her once a year.
-Tiffany Heavens
Great read! Awesome to learn more about how one holiday, like Mother's Day, can be celebrated in all different ways around to world. For all that our mothers do for us, they all deserve least one day off a year.
--Kimberly Wilbers
The way I see things is that everyone should participate in Mother's Day. I'm not a mother, but I do have a clear understanding of what mothers do. Mother's day appreciates motherhood, our mothers, and mother like figures. It is surely a day to celebrate the love, feelings and emotions attached with the first person you have ever met. Mother's day is really a holiday that I wish could be celebrated everywhere. I also find it fascinating how I take different pieces of how other cultures celebrate Mother's Day and celebrate in the exact same way!
Brittany Duckett SA200
It's really engrossing how we all celebrate the same holiday in different ways then others. In my household we celebrate Mothers' Day like New Zealand I acknowledge my mom and the other women in my family that are mothers and they all get cards and gifts from others to show appreciation. But I also found it very interesting how in Ireland back then how it was celebrated and the back history of how it started initially. - Tatyana M
It's nice to know that mother's day is so important all around the world. Their may be some small differences in how people celebrate it but, the overall goal of it remains the same which is showing recognition to mothers for what they do for their family.
apreshana page
It's very interesting learning about other places and how they celebrate holidays the same or different from us. It's nice to celebrate the mother's. Those are the people who have given birth to us and we should thank and appreciate them for that.- Alexis Buford
I enjoyed this post, especially because mothers day is coming up and I am figuring out what to do for my mother! In my family we celebrate all the mothers though, not just our own.
I feel like Mother's day should be important for every culture. Not just America so I'm glad India is starting to celebrate it. In South Africa the Carnations are very interesting when it comes to color, I would hate to work at a store and see the customers buying white ones since that means the Mother has passed.
-Justin Mitchell
I enjoyed learning that in other countries mother’s day is celebrated as well. I had not looked into the matter much, but am quite jealous that other mothers get to be exempt from motherly duties on the holiday. It is also interesting that it is celebrated on different days in different parts of the world, but with the same admiration for mothers.
Elaine Christopher
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