Overview

Mom, Madre, Ma-Ma, Uma,: Though these words are all in different languages, they signify the same concept of motherhood—love, care, nurture, and often sacrifice. To honor all mothers and their amazing contributions, Mother’s Day was created. Although much of its meaning has been lost throughout the years, Mother’s Day is a day to remember and give thanks to what mothers have done. In the United States, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. In many part parts of the world, Mother’s Day is observed. Below is a calendar containing dates for several countries.

In New York City, there are a lot of different ethnic immigrant groups celebrating Mother’s Day. Unlike Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick’s Day or any other culture-specific holidays, Mother’s Day does not seem to have a significant meaning to immigrants. However, I was able to find how immigrants’ culture played a role in their celebrations through interviews. The following pages will explore the history, immigrants’ experience of celebrating, and commercialization of Mother’s Day. I specifically focused on the celebrations of Chinese, Korean and Russian immigrants. I hope you enjoy!

Brief History

The history of Mother’s Day can be traced back to ancient Greece, where the ancient Greeks honored the Mother of the Gods. ¹ The ancient Greeks had a celebration for the Mother of the Gods. Though England started to observe “Mothering Sunday” in honor of the Mother Church since  1600s, much of celebration tradition came from the American version of Mother’s Day. In the United States, Mother’s Day was first started in 1907 by Ana Jarvis in memory of her mother. After she devoted herself to making Mother’s Day a national holiday for several years, Mother’s Day finally became recognized as a national holiday in 1914 ² Ever since, Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May every year.

Move on to Immigrants & Mother’s Day

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