CubaPLUS Magazine

Second Sunday in May, a day to remember

By: Mercy Ramos
May 12, 2024
Second Sunday in May, a day to remember

Every second Sunday in May, Mother's Day is celebrated in Cuba, that being the irreplaceable person who brings us into the world and who is capable of giving even her own life for the children and that she is always aware of them, even if they are adults, because for her they will always be small.

According to historical data, the first Mother's Day was celebrated on May 12, 1907, at the initiative of the North American activist Anna Jarvis, a date that corresponded to the second anniversary of her mother's death, which she did as a tribute to her memory of her and distributed white carnations to many of the attendees.

In Cuba, although the exact date of the beginning of the celebration is unknown, it is known that it was established at the initiative of journalist Víctor Muñoz, who wrote an article about the date under the title “Mi Clavel Blanco” in the newspaper El Mundo.

The idea caught on, especially in the town of Santiago de las Vegas, in Havana, and In 1920, Muñoz himself, who was part of the capital's city council, proposed to establish the date, but it was not until 1928 that it was officially approved.

As a result, Cubans liked the idea and since then, they began to pay tribute to mothers on a special day of the year. Mother's Day is celebrated in almost all countries in the world, although the date varies. For example in the United States, as in many nations of America such as Canada, Colombia, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and others, it is celebrated on the second Sunday of May, while in Portugal, South Africa and Spain they do it on the first Sunday. Other countries have designated specific days for the celebration, such as in El Salvador, India, Mexico, Guatemala, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Oman who do so on 10 May; in Costa Rica on August 15; on March 8 in Albania and on December in Indonesia.

May 26 is also celebrated in Poland, in Nicaragua on the 30th and in Samoa on the 14th. However, in Argentina the third Sunday of October was chosen to honor mothers, in France on the last Sunday in May, like the Dominican Republic and Sweden. In Panama the date is December 8, in Norway the second Sunday of February and in the United Kingdom the fourth Sunday of Lent.

As a tradition in Cuba, although perhaps it has been lost a little, that day people carry a red flower on their chest when the mother is alive and those who can no longer enjoy the company of her, a white flower as a beautiful way to honor her.

There is precisely an old song, composed by the Cuban Osvaldo Farrés that has passed from generation to generation in honor of the mothers that this tradition narrates: Mother of the dear soul, on my chest I carry a flower, You don't care what color it is, because in the end you are a mother, a flower. I extend a great congratulations to all Cuban mothers, wherever they may be.

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