Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Mother's Day or Mother's Days?


                       I wonder why Mother’s Day is celebrated in the whole of March, April and May rather than just a sole day like February 14th for Valentine’s Day or October31st for Halloween. Are mothers in every corner of the world different? I strongly believe that mothers share the same quality, love, affection, behavior, trust and very many other beautiful adjectives that are common only to them, be it in any part of the world. The real reason behind Mother’s Day is of course to celebrate, honor and admire mothers, their motherhood and the significance of a mother in a family all around the world.

                Then why must the world celebrate Mother’s Day at different dates in different months. Having read a recent article on Yahoo regarding the dates where Mother’s Day is celebrated around the world, I was taken aback by its veracity and here is the proof; if you are in the Middle East then Mother’s Day falls on March 21st; Russia and Eastern Europe celebrates on March 8th; for UK, Ireland, Nigeria and Bangladesh it’s on March 18th; Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Mozambique celebrate on the first Sunday of May; China, India, Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Greece, Canada, Philippines, Switzerland, United States, Italy, Cuba, Cuba and Pakistan and a long list of other countries honor Mother’s Day on second Sunday of May; France, Tunisia, Haiti, Sweden, Morocco and very many other countries celebrate on the last Sunday of May…phew!!! The list is endless with almost 200 countries making up for the entire world.

                     And if you are an Indian but an immigrant in the Middle East, US or UK which day will you choose to honor your mother? Is it going to be March 21st as it is in the Middle East or the second Sunday of May as in the US and India or March 18th like in the UK? Hmmm….Something to think about I guess? But whom should we leave the decision to; ourself, the media, stories, history or culture in this state of confusion? Or do we actually need to decide on a single date to express all the love we have for our mother?

                  Being an Indian living in Dubai it was hard for me to decide when to celebrate Mother’s Day but it so happened that I ended up buying her a gift when I got my salary and unfortunately that didn’t fall on any of the proposed dates set to honor Mother’s Day either in Dubai or in India. With all the media, marketing, promotions, advertisements and sales soaring up with every passing minute on Mother’s Day where profit and TRP ratings are all that matters; I guess we daughters and sons are the best people to decide when and how to honor our own mothers. A small peck on her cheek, a “love you, mom”, a hug or a loveable expression or gesture will be more than enough for your mom anytime of the day to tell her how much she means to you.

I love you mom:-*

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