Mother’s Day or La Fête des Mères in France is celebrated on the last Sunday of May or on May 30th, unless it falls on Pentecost Day, and in that case, it will be moved to the first Sunday in June. Mother’s Day is a day to honor all mothers and maternal bonds, including non-biological mothers. Originally, this day was created by Napoléon Bonaparte to recognize mothers of large families. In the U.S., Mother’s Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. This holiday was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908, and it became a national U.S. holiday in 1914.

Of course, it is customary for French preschool and elementary children to make handmade arts and crafts gifts ( I still have the precious gifts my children made for me like the macaroni, papier maché or salt dough painted beads necklaces) at school with their teacher to give mom on that special day with a festive “Bonne Fête Maman!” along with a traditional handwritten poem such as the classic poem every French elementary student learns called Pour ma Mère by Maurice Carême.

My very first fond memory of Mother’s Day was in 2001 because I got to celebrate this special day with my newborn baby girl surrounded by family. Also, one of our family traditions is to serve breakfast in bed or le petit-déjeuner au lit with café au lait, croissants, and some mimosas. (wait! don’t get out of bed yet, especially if you smell the café or you’ll spoil the surprise!) How do you like to celebrate your special day?

A Classic French poem taught in elementary schools on Mother’s Day:

Il y a plus de fleurs

Pour ma mère, en mon coeur,

Que dans tous les vergers ;

Plus de merles rieurs

Pour ma mère, en mon coeur,

Que dans le monde entier ;

Et bien plus de baisers

Pour ma mère, en mon coeur,

Qu’on en pourrait donner.

Maurice Carême

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