About Mother’s Day
In Canada and the United States, Mother’s Day is the second Sunday of May. The modern holiday grew out of an early twentieth-century campaign led by Anna Jarvis in the United States, and the second-Sunday-in-May date was formally adopted there in 1914. The day is for thanking mothers and other maternal figures — grandmothers, stepmothers, aunts, foster and adoptive mothers — with cards, flowers, calls and a meal together.
How the date is set
Count the Sundays in May and take the second one. That puts Mother’s Day between May 8 and May 14. Because it is always a Sunday it is never a day off work, and the countdown ends at the very start of that Sunday on your device’s clock. If you want a countdown to a brunch reservation, set the exact time with the countdown to any date.
Not the same everywhere
Many countries celebrate on other days. In the United Kingdom, Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Lent, which falls in March or early April, and other countries keep their own fixed dates. If you are sending a card or a gift abroad, check the local date first, and use a countdown with the right time zone to see how long you have left.
Ways to mark it
Handwritten cards, a shared meal, flowers, or a call to a mother who lives far away are all common. For families spread across time zones, a countdown set in the right city helps plan a call at a time that suits everyone. For people remembering a mother who has died, the day can be a hard one, and many mark it quietly in their own way.
Planning ahead
Flowers, restaurant tables and posted gifts are commonly arranged days in advance, so the countdown is a handy reminder of how much time is left. The countdown timer times a recipe, the clock keeps a brunch on schedule, and you can embed the countdown on a family page. Victoria Day comes a week or two later, and Father’s Day about five or six weeks after that.
More countdowns
Need a different date? Use the countdown to any date or count up with time since a date.
Questions
What date is Mother’s Day this year?
Mother’s Day is the second Sunday of May, so it is always between May 8 and May 14. The countdown above always shows the next one, so it is right for the current year without any lookup.
Is Mother’s Day on the same date in Canada and the US?
Yes. Canada and the United States both celebrate it on the second Sunday of May. Other countries use different dates, so check the local date before you send a card or a gift abroad, and set the countdown to the right time zone.
Why is Mother’s Day always on a Sunday?
The date is set by counting Sundays in May, which keeps it on a day when families can get together. Because it is a Sunday it is never a statutory holiday, and nobody needs time off work to mark it.
What does the countdown show on the day itself?
On the day the page says it is today and tells you how far away next year’s is. When the day is over it switches to the following Mother’s Day and counts down again, with no need to reload the page.