When is Mother’s Day in the UK and why is it different to the US?

However, If you’re UK-based and have found yourself in a brief panic in the past after seeing lovely Mother’s Day messages plastered all across social media, only to find it wasn’t the right date, you certainly wouldn’t be alone.

Mother’s day is celebrated on a different date across the pond and in other places around the world.

So, when exactly is Mother’s Day in the UK, and why is it celebrated on another day in the US?

Here’s all you need to know.

When is Mother’s Day in the UK?

In 2023, the UK will celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday, March 19.

Only a few countries share this date, including Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man, Ireland and Nigeria.

Why is Mother’s Day on a different date in the US?

The US date for Mother’s Day 2023 is Sunday, May 14.

In the UK, you’ll notice that the date changes significantly every year.

This was when Christians would visit their ‘mother church’ – and is the reason for the term Mothering Sunday.

Because the dates of Lent and Easter change each year, based on the Lunar calendar, the date of Mother’s Day changes too.

In other countries like the US, the day wasn’t based on religious tradition and is specifically referred to as Mother’s Day.

It became an official US holiday in 1914 when then-President Woodrow Wilson declared the second Sunday in May as a day of ‘public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.’

The campaign for a national observance was started in 1908 by West Virginia activist Anna Jarvis, who campaigned for a holiday in honour of her mother, who was a community activist.

The idea was first planted by suffragist Julia Ward Howe in 1872 who suggested the holiday as a chance to unite women.

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