Mother's Day and Father's Day

Mother's Day: Origin in America

Evil tongues claim that Mother's Day is merely an invention of the flower and praline industry. The tradition of Mother's Day goes back to an initiative of the American women's rights activist Anna Jarvis. In 1905 she called for a festive day for all mothers to honor her own deceased mother and at the same time draw attention to the problems of women. In 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson declared the second Sunday in May to be Mother's Day nationwide. Florist organizations probably brought the day to Europe, so it was the flower industry that came into play. Mother's Day has been celebrated in Germany since the 1920s.

And how did Father's Day arise?

There are various theories about the origin of Father's Day. One says that the US-American Sonora Smart Todd had the idea after the introduction of Mother's Day to dedicate a day to the fathers. For personal reasons: She wanted to honor her father, who had raised six children as a single parent. Father's Day is now celebrated in many countries, but not always on the same day. In Germany, Father's Day falls on Ascension Day and it is common practice in many places that not only fathers are celebrated by their families. All men can celebrate "their" day: They often go out together with a barbecue and handcart - no matter if they are already a dad or not.

There is also a children's day - but it is celebrated differently

So Mom and Dad have a day to celebrate. And what about the kids? There is also a worldwide children's day, but it is by no means perceived in all families. The idea of the Children's Day is to draw attention to children's rights worldwide. It is celebrated every year on 20 September - mostly with big celebrations, which are organized by the children's charity, for example. In the former GDR, 1 June was regarded as an international children's day. In many families there were gifts and congratulations for the kids. Whatever the day, it would actually be a nice idea to celebrate the Children's Day in the family like Mother's and Father's Day. Breakfast in bed, play your favourite games afterwards, just do what the little ones want (if that's not the case every day anyway). And maybe there are even little presents - for example a fun game like Remembory, which you can play directly on children's day or doing some little DIY projects at home like those cute little cake toppers. Sounds like a nice time with the family, doesn't it?

Celebrating Mother's Day and Father's Day: Beautiful ideas for children

Back to Mother's Day and Father's Day. When there are presents involved, it's often the classics like flowers and chocolate - a survey of parents showed that these are not the things mum and dad most want. It's much better if you do something together or simply let yourself be pampered and are not responsible for breakfast, trip planning and afternoon cake. So how about planning the next Mother's Day? The kids prepare their favourite breakfast together with Daddy Mama, have previously devised a common daily plan and take care of all To Dos that occur on this day. This is also possible on Father's Day - if Daddy is not there with his buddies...

Alternative idea: Simply introduce your own holidays

If you don't feel like keeping to the holiday schedule when planning family time, you can simply introduce your own. The best thing about it is that they don't have to take place only once a year. Of course it will not be possible in the normal chaos of everyday life to simply spoil mummy on a classic Tuesday or to plan a trip.

But why not declare every first Saturday of the month a family father's day? Or make every Thursday evening a Mother's Evening when Mom doesn't have to worry about anything? Here every family can become creative - the main thing is to celebrate enough together.

Pictures: @liep.ert.to.the.moon, @settebello_hh