Mother’s Day in Argentina is the third Sunday in October. It is a celebration of religious origin but extended to the whole society, which in 2023 will coincide with the 15th of this month.
The traditional feast for the person who plays the role of mother is one of the most traditional in the country, since it began in 1931. That year, Pope Pius XI dedicated October 11 to the “Divine Motherhood of Mary” as a in honor of the Council of Ephesus, a gathering of ecclesiastics with great relevance to the creed that took place in the year 431 and proclaimed Mary as the true Mother of Christ in Catholic doctrine.
The Argentine government, led de facto at the time by José Félix Uriburu, repeated the religious initiative and ordered that Mother’s Day be celebrated on the Sunday after or the one before the date. Later, it was established that it was always the third Sunday in October, the last month of the year.
The date has become the heritage of the Argentine society, which beyond its belief celebrates on this date the person who, due to biology, feelings or both, we consider our mother. This is the second anniversary dedicated to our calendar, at least partially, to these figures, since the World Mothers and Fathers Day, an initiative of the UN (United Nations Organization), celebrated every 1st of June.
Although an unshakable part of Argentina’s celebrations, Mother’s Day on the third Sunday of October is an exception in the global calendar, since almost 40 countries celebrate it on the second Sunday of May, as honoring the month of Mary, mother of Jesus. in the Catholic tradition. Among the countries that celebrate that date are Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Germany, United States, Australia, Austria and Japan. In Spain, another Catholic country, they keep the month, but celebrate the day on the first Sunday of May.
Mother’s Day is not a holiday, but a commemorative date, but there are still a few days off for the rest of the year, and even an extra-long weekend, lasting four days, this October .
The period includes different types of holidays: Friday, October 13, declared a tourist holiday by the Government, and on Monday, the 16th, the Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity is celebrated, a transition holiday which was passed down from the 12th, the original anniversary date commemorating the first recorded contact in 1492 between Europeans and Americans.
After October 16, there will be no transfer holidays or tourist long weekends in the national calendar. However, there are three days off until the end of the year:
Non-transferable holidays
- Monday, November 20 (National Sovereignty Day)
- Friday, December 8 (Day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary)
- Monday, December 25 (Christmas)
