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Published Friday, August 14, 2020
Happy Mother's Day to Expats too
Expat mothers may celebrate mother's days twice. The day corresponding to their country of origin, and August 15th Costa Rica's Mother's Day.
Mother's Day is a holiday on different dates around the world. For example, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Mothering Sunday is celebrated on the last Sunday of March, in the United States, Canada, Germany, and Australia Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May.
The origin of Mother's Day dates back to ancient Greece, where Rhea, the mother of the Gods Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus was honored.
Later, by Greek heritage, the Romans also celebrated a spring festival called Hilaria, in which they paid tribute for three days to Cibeles, another mother goddess.
Catholics transformed these celebrations to honor the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus on December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. They adopted this date for the celebration of Mother's Day.
In the United States, in 1907 Ana Jervis organized the first unofficial Mother's Day, to remember her mother who had passed away. From then on, she led an active campaign that spread throughout the United States.
In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother's Day as the second Sunday of May in the United States. The idea to celebrate Mother's Day spread through more than 40 countries.
In Costa Rica, the date chosen was August 15th. The day the Catholic Church also celebrates the day of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary to heaven.
According to the Catholic tradition, the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, rises to heaven in body and soul. That is why all Costa Rican churches perform a special mass where white and gold colors dominate the priest's clothing and the temple's altar.
In homage to mothers, August 15th was declared a holiday. It is a legal non-working day and most public institutions do not provide services on this date. In the case of private companies, employees should get double pay if they have to work on this holiday.
This year, the holiday will be celebrated on Monday, August 17th. The goal of celebrate holidays on Monday is to encourage local tourism.
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