El Día De La Madre: Mexican Mother's Day Explained - Amigo Energy

Mexican Mother’s Day, or El Día de la Madre (also El Día de las Madres), is a colorful celebration and homage to mothers across the country. This special day is one of the most important parts of Mexican culture, both socially and religiously. But why is Mexican Mother’s Day often on a different day of the week than Mother’s Day in the U.S.? Our Mother’s Day guide will give you the lowdown on the Mexican celebration of mothers. 

When Is Mother’s Day Celebrated in Mexico? 

Mexican Mother’s Day is celebrated on May 10, a date that never changes from year to year. El Salvador and Guatemala also honor El Día de Las Madres on the same day as the Mexican Mother’s Day format spreads across Latin America. 

In the United States, Mother’s Day is on the second Sunday in May, meaning that the date changes annually. Occasionally, Mother’s Day falls on the same May 10 date both in Mexico and the U.S. 

How Do People Celebrate Mother’s Day in Mexico? 

Mother’s Day in Mexico involves music, singing, food, and the giving of Mother’s Day gifts. Children of all ages make a fuss about their mothers in various ways. Moms are called “las reinas de la casa,” or the queens of the house, and treated accordingly. 

There are also special church masses on May 10, in which symbols of Mother Mary and her son Jesus take prominence. 

Many members of the Mexican Catholic Church also remember Our Lady of Guadalupe, a powerful symbol of motherhood. Our Lady of Guadalupe represents the Virgin Mary, who is believed to have appeared as an apparition to an indigenous Mexican peasant in the 16th century. 

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What Gifts Are Given on Mexican Mother’s Day?

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Gifts for El Día de La Madre are similar to those that people give in the United States. In Mexico, children send gifts of flowers, thoughtful presents, and cards on Mother’s Day. 

May 10 is one of the busiest days in Mexican restaurants. Many people take their mothers out to restaurants and treat them to meals. Although Mexican Mother’s Day is not a public holiday, companies often let employees leave work early so they can be with their mothers. 

However, Mexico’s passion for music helps set it apart from the way other countries mark Mother’s Day. 

What Are Some Mother’s Day Traditions in Mexico? 

Moms are often lavished with material gifts on Mother’s Day in Mexico. Still, it’s usually a personal tribute that gets mothers reaching for the pañuelos (tissues). 

Many sons and daughters come to the family home on May 9 to be in a position to begin the May 10 festivities. Suppose Mexican Mother’s Day falls during the middle of the week. In that case, schools will often arrange special activities so children can sing songs to their moms. 

Singing is an integral part of Mother’s Day in Mexico, with the Mexican passion for music known around the world. Mothers often wake up to hear their children singing the serenade “Las Mañanitas,” sometimes accompanied by a hired mariachi band. 

This traditional song compares the lucky recipient with the world’s beauty at dawn. The song is also sung at Mexican birthday parties. 

Here are some of the words of Las Mañanitas in Spanish, with an English translation, to give English speakers an idea of the sweetness of the imparted words. 

Las Mañanitas (Spanish excerpt):  

Despierta, mi bien, despierta, mira que ya amaneció, ya los pajarillos cantan, 

La luna ya se metió. 

Qué linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte. 

Venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte. 

English translation: 

Wake up, my love, wake up. Look, the dawn has come. 

The little birds are already singing, and the moon has gone to bed. 

How pretty is this morning, this morning I’ve come to greet you? 

We’re delighted to have come here, with joy to congratulate you. 

What Do People Eat on Mexican Mother’s Day? 

Mother’s Day in Mexico is all about Mom. However, like most Mexican celebrations, great food is an integral part of the day. People eat at home and plenty head out, too. 

Many kitchens and restaurants will produce abundant amounts of classic Mexican dishes on Mother’s Day. Here are just a few of the tasty delicacies you might enjoy: 

• Mole is a spicy sauce featuring dried chiles, seeds, and sometimes chocolate. Many cooks have a secret, unique recipe, giving the dish an individual spin. 
• Sopes, also known as a picadita, are fried masa buns topped with various savory ingredients including meat and vegetables. 
• Pozole is a traditional meat soup or stew garnished with familiar Mexican ingredients such as avocados, limes, chili peppers, and onion. 
• Enchiladas are baked corn tortillas that are filled with meat, cheese, potatoes, vegetables, beans, or combinations of these ingredients. 

Don’t be surprised to see a barbecue fired up on Mother’s Day, too. If you are in the Yucatan Peninsula, a delicacy often served is cochinita pibil, which is traditional slow-roasted pork. 

What Is the History of Mother’s Day? 

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Humans have honored mothers and mother goddesses for thousands of years, with rituals dating back to ancient times. 

The Phrygians, who inhabited parts of what is now modern-day Turkey between the 7th-12th century BC, held festivals for the Great Mother, a goddess known as Cybele. The ancient Greeks had Rhea and the Egyptians had Isis who benefitted from an annual festival in her name. 

The eight-armed Durga, who sits astride a tiger, is still the focus of large festivals in India, worshiped for being the true inner power of other gods. Mother Earth is a powerful force within Pagan cultures, too. In short, mothers and motherhood have been powerful symbols throughout the ages. 

In the U.K., Mother’s Day started in the Middle Ages when children as young as 10 were often sent away from home to find work. People were allowed to return to their mother and so-called “home church” — where they were baptized — on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Easter dates change each year, so Mother’s Day changes every year in the United Kingdom. 

It’s thought the British Mother’s Day tradition didn’t survive transportation to the Americas because people were too far from their home church to return and mark the day. 

What Is the History of Mother’s Day in the United States? 

People in the United States commemorate Mother’s on the second Sunday of May each year. 

Anna Jarvis started the day of recognition after holding a small memorial service for her mother, the peace activist Anne Reeves Jarvis, on May 12, 1907. After several years of campaigning by Jarvis, President Woodrow Wilson made the second Sunday of May Mother’s Day and a national holiday. 

Jarvis wished for white carnations to be a tribute to a mother. The modern take is to wear a red or pink carnation for a living mother and a white carnation for someone whose mother has passed. 

Commercialization has seen Mother’s Day extend to aunts and grandmothers, which led to Jarvis seeking to abolish the holiday she helped create. Jarvis failed in her bid, and Mother’s Day is now a prominent date on families’ calendars. 

How Did Mother’s Day Start in Mexico? 

As in the United States, Mexican Mother’s Day is a relatively modern tradition. 

On May 19, 1922, Rafael Alducin was editor of the Mexico City newspaper El Excelsior. The U.S. version of Mother’s Day was seeping into popular Mexican culture, so Alducin used his column to write an article pushing for the celebration of Mother’s Day across Mexico. 

His campaign gained traction, and May 10 became the day Mexico would honor its mothers. Phrases you may hear on the day include: 

• Mamá, eres la mejor (Mom, you’re the best). 
• Te quiero con todo mi corazón (I love you with all my heart). 

Did the Mayans Celebrate Mother’s Day? 

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Mexico’s Mayan culture had its own way of idolizing mothers, too. Between the 13th and 16th centuries, before the Spanish arrived in pre-Columbian times, Mayans would undertake what we now call the Sacred Mayan Journey. 

People canoed from near Cancún, Yucatan, across the Gulf of Mexico to a small island called Cozumel. They took offerings to present to Ixchel, the goddess of the moon, childbirth, fertility, and the tides. Worshiping included ceremonies and dances, and people received divine messages to impart to their communities. 

Why Do Some People Protest on Mother’s Day in Mexico? 

Mother’s Day can be a challenging time for many people who have lost loved ones, be they parents or children. 

In Mexico, there is a march on Mother’s Day by people demanding to know the whereabouts of their missing children. The Mexican government has stated that more than 80,000 people count as “desaparecidos” (disappeared) since the country’s war on drugs started in 2006. 

Mothers and parents congregate to demand information and help finding their missing relatives. 

How Many Countries Celebrate Mother’s Day? 

It’s estimated that more than 100 countries have a Mother’s Day celebration, with different days and ways to mark the occasion. Many people give gifts, from flowers to cards to luxury purchases like spa treatments. 

Celebrating Moms on Mexican Mother’s Day 

Mexican Mother’s Day is held on May 10 every year and is a tribute to the women who brought everyone into the world. People buy gifts, sing, and treat their mothers to food and drinks as a thank you for the support and love (and even admonishments) they have given over the years. 

Mothers are a strong influence whether they are a biological mom, foster mom, adoptive mother, or other mother-type figure. As many Mexican mothers will have said to their children, “Algun día me lo agradecerás.” The phrase means, “One day you’ll thank me for the wisdom I am imparting.” 

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William Shakespeare used his play, Henry V, to describe the powerful influence living and remembered mothers evoke within their children. The quotation reads: “And all my mother came into mine eyes. And gave me up to tears.” The great Bard captured how many people feel when they think of their mothers, bringing them to weep tears of joy. 

Whether it’s Mother’s Day in Mexico, the United States, or elsewhere, many people will wish a Happy Mother’s Day to beloved mothers both alive and passed. And as a good child, don’t forget to pass Mom some more enchiladas. 

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