History of Mother's Day

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to those in ancient Greece that honored Rhea, the mother of the gods. During the 1600s, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday," which honored the mothers of England. As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church." Over time the two celebrations blended to honor both mothers and the church.
In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle Hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace.
In 1907 Ana Jarvis began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. She persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, WV to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death (the second Sunday of May) and began to write to ministers, businessman, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. By the year 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the second Sunday of May.
While many countries of the world celebrate their own Mother's Day at different times throughout the year, there are several countries that also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

Mother's Day in Various Regions:

Day	Country
Second Sunday in February	Norway
Shevat 30 (falls anywhere between January 30 and March 1)	Israel
March 3	Georgia
March 8	Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Laos, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine South Korea. In Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Guyana, Italy, Macedonia, Mongolia, Russia, and Ukraine it is observed as International Women's Day, not specifically Mothers' day.
Fourth Sunday in Lent (Mothering Sunday - March 2 in 2008)	Ireland, Nigeria, United Kingdom
March 21 (vernal equinox)	Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen (All Arab countries in general)
March 25	Slovenia
April 7	Armenia
Baisakh Amavasya (Mata Tirtha Aunsi)	Nepal
First Sunday in May	Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain
May 8	Albania (Parents' Day), South Korea (Parents' Day).
May 10	El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico
Second Sunday in May - (May 11 in 2008)	Anguilla, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Malta, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zimbabwe
May 15	Paraguay
May 26	Poland
May 27	Bolivia
last Sunday in May	Algeria, Dominican Republic, France (except if it coincides with Pentecost day, in which case Mother's Day will be shifted to the first Sunday of June), Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia.
May 30	Nicaragua
June 1	Mongolia (The Mothers and Children's Day. Mongolia is the only country that celebrates Mother's day twice a year.)
2nd Sunday of June	Luxembourg
Last Sunday of June	Kenya
August 12	Thailand (the birthday of Queen Sirikit Kitiyakara)
August 15 (Assumption Day)	Antwerp (Belgium), Costa Rica
Second Monday in October	Malawi
October 14	Belarus
Third Sunday in October	Argentina (Día de la Madre)
Last Sunday of November	Russia
December 8	Panama
16 December, Iranian calendar: 25 Azar (Mother And Child Foundation)	Iran
December 22	Indonesia