Mother’s Day in Panama

  The celebration of motherhood is as old as human culture. The United Kingdom has celebrated a “Mum’s Day” since the 16th century. Even older are the celebration of Cybele, a mother of Greek gods in first Greece and then Rome before the time of Christ. However, a specific “Mother’s Day” for most of the world dates back to the USA and one Anna Jarvis in Grafton, West Virginia. She promoted a day to honor mothers and motherhood within the context of the family and family relationships.   It is sad to say that when Mother’s Day in the USA passed into law and then became commercialized Ms. Jarvis disowned it as a “Hallmark Holiday.” Nevertheless a specific Mother’s Day holiday spread world wide, usually being marked on a day significant to the local culture.   This is how Panama ended up with its celebration of Mother’s Day on December 8th, sort of.

Panama’s Mother’s Day was started by the Rotary Clubs of Panama on May 11, 1924. According to Alonso Roy, a Panamanian historian, the first celebration was a success as the shops were full of people buying gifts, people flocking to cemeteries carrying flowers to their dead mothers, and hundreds of Mother’s Day telegrams.

Panama changed the date of its Mother’s Day celebration in 1930 as a result of a national debate over making the Catholic celebration of the Immaculate Conception a national holiday. This was opposed by those who did not want to turn a religious holiday into a national holiday. The solution to this dilemma proposed by then-deputy Aníbal Rios was to move Mother’s Day to the 8th of December, the date of the observance of the Immaculate Conception, and declare Mother’s Day a national holiday.

The celebration of Mother’s Day has not changed over the years whether one is in the city or in the interior. All around the country Panamanians families celebrate Mother’s day with presents for their mothers, making traditional dishes, taking Mother out to eat or an event such as a concert. In many families grandmothers, aunts, and godmothers are also honored.

It is not uncommon for people to travel across the country to celebrate Mother’s Day. Because Panama’s Mother’s Day is celebrated on the same day as the Catholic celebration of the Immaculate Conception many communities have a mass and a procession through the streets of the town in which families participate. Often events on Mother’s Day have the sense of a fashion show as Mothers show off a new dress or jewelry.

In Panama, as in most of the rest of the world, Mom rests on this day while her husband and/or the children do the dishes, sweep the floor, and look after the baby.