How do you celebrate Mother’s Day? 

Día de la Madre is coming up soon, and not many people know where this tradition comes from. The celebration started in 1922. May was picked because it is the month of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. And the 10th because, back in the day, payday was every 10 days. Other sources say the first Mother’s Day happened in Oaxaca in 1913 when the wife of a Methodist deacon found an American magazine where there was an article about Mother’s Day and decided we needed it in Mexico too. Mexico was the first Spanish-speaking country in America to celebrate Mother’s Day with the first monument in Mexico City, built in 1949. Mother’s Day is so important in Mexico that most businesses give mothers the day off, schools make festivals and host breakfasts and gifts are typically given, although nowadays it is frowned upon when household items or appliances are given to moms. 

Luisa Armada, 25, accountant. 

I like to take my mom and grandma for breakfast, somewhere nice with good food, and it’s obviously my treat. Then I take them for a small shopping trip. I get them whatever they need for themselves and we have lunch and chill at my house. I try to make this day super special since they were both single mothers and I think they deserve the entire world. 

Carlos Perez, 63, farmer. 

I take my wife out to dinner a day before or a day after, because the day of, everything is packed. She loves to cook though, so it’s hard for us to ask her to take a break. Last year my kids saved a lot of money and gave her a spa package, but she took so long in going that it expired. This year I don’t think I’ll take her anywhere because of the pandemic, but my kids will probably think of something to do to make her day special.

Josue Gonzales, 29, media manager. 

I love pampering my mom and I don’t wait for Mother’s Day, but I usually plan something different. One year I took her to a spa and dinner, another year we had a picnic at her favorite beach, and this year I’m taking her on a flash vacation to see her girlfriends who live away. 

Josefina Chavez, 45, receptionist. 

My kids always make me breakfast in bed and we just hang out, they deep clean the house one day before so I don’t have to do anything, and my girls give me massages, facials and do my nails. I miss it when they were little. They would make a small dance or performance and it was really fun. 

Daniela Hernandez, 21, student. 

This year we are getting my grandma, aunts and mom all together at the ranch and all my cousins and I are having a big lunch and a performance. The pandemic has been hard for them since they couldn’t see much of each other, but most of them are vaccinated. The men in our family will take care of the food and we will do decorations. Each family has a big present for each of their moms. 

Cristina Villa, 43, hairstylist. 

I am a mom now, and I invite my mother to my house where my kids celebrate us. They usually make breakfast and we do some sort of activity. My mother really enjoys taking out picture albums and telling stories, she loves braiding the girl’s hair and we all have a good time. My kids have now made a rule that we can’t get appliances for Mother’s Day, so they give us chocolate, wine, self-care stuff and clothes.