When is Mother’s Day 2024? UAE Mother’s Day dates explained

If you’re feeling a bit confused about what date you should be celebrating Mother’s Day in the UAE, you’re certainly not alone.

Mother’s Day is celebrated in countries all across the globe, and is set aside as an opportunity to show gratitude for the important role that mothers play in society and in their families’ lives.

However, the date of Mother’s Day varies widely across different countries, although it is often in the months of March or May.

With so many expats from diverse nationalities living in the UAE, this means that the question of “when is UAE Mother’s Day?” does not have a straightforward answer. Here, we’ve rounded up all the major dates you need to know for celebrating Mother’s Day 2024 in the UAE…

When to celebrate Mother’s Day in the UAE

8 MARCH International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day falls on the 8th March, which is also celebrated as Mother’s Day in many countries, especially across Eastern Europe. In the UAE many people celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March by recognising strong female role models in their lives and giving them gifts, treats or cards to mark the occasion. Although this is a celebration of women – many of whom are mums – it is distinct from Mother’s Day in the UAE.

10 MARCH Mothering Sunday 

Then there is ‘Mothering Sunday’, which in 2024 fell on Sunday 10 March. Dating back to the 1600s, this is what the UK and Ireland celebrate as Mother’s Day. It falls on the fourth Sunday of the Christian festival of Lent, three weeks before Easter, which means that the exact date changes every year.

This is not the official Mother’s Day for the UAE, although many British and Irish expat families living in the UAE will celebrate on this day, and the date tends to be very close to Arabic Mother’s Day, meaning the celebrations complement one another.

21 MARCH Arabic Mother’s Day

Arabic Mother’s Day falls on 21 March every year, which in 2024 was a Thursday. This is the day generally designated to celebrate mothers in the UAE, as well as across the Arab world. Most of the promotions and celebrations happening in the UAE for Mother’s Day will be based around this date, especially as it tends to coincide closely with the UK and Ireland’s Mothering Sunday tradition.

12 MAY International Mother’s Day 

Coming up next is the American Mother’s Day, which is also celebrated on the same date in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Philippines, China and the majority of other countries around the world. Although celebrating Mother’s Day on this date started in America, this day is generally seen as International Mother’s Day. As it falls on the second Sunday in May, the exact date varies each year. This year it falls on Sunday 12 May. Since so many countries around the world mark Mother’s Day on this day, and there are so many nationalities in the UAE, you may see some celebrations in the UAE based around this date also.

When was Mother’s Day invented?

It is claimed that the very first celebrations of motherhood can be traced back to the Arab world, with scholars at the University of Cairo saying that they originated in Ancient Egypt as part of a Pharaonic tradition.

The modern version of Mother’s Day in the Arab world on 21 March is said to have been popularized by a journalist named Mustafa Amin, who introduced the concept to an Egyptian audience in 1943 in his book, ‘Smiling America’.

Meanwhile the roots of the modern Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May in the United States is attributed to a woman named Anna Jarvis who, after the death of her own mother – an activist and social worker – in 1908, advocated for an official holiday that would honour all mothers.

During her campaign, Anna Jarvis created the Mother’s Day International Association and trademarked the phrases “second Sunday in May” and “Mother’s Day.” In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson made Mother’s Day an official national holiday in the US.

Is it “Mother’s Day” or “Mothers’ Day”?

Another point of confusion for grammar nerds when it comes to Mother’s Day is where that pesky apostrophe goes; does it even matter? The American Mother’s Day campaigner Anna Jarvis was very clear that she preferred the placement of the apostrophe in “Mother’s Day” — making it singular possessive, not plural possessive, so that each family would honour its individual mother. She later regretted the commercialization of Mother’s Day that ensued, and waged legal battles to fight it. She never had children of her own.

Everywhere Mother’s Day is celebrated – and when…

Across the rest of the world there are a variety of other days set aside to honour mothers. Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian Mother’s Day is observed on the first Sunday in May, French Mother’s Day on 30 May, while Russian Mother’s Day is celebrated in November, Indonesian Mother’s Day in December and Norwegian Mother’s Day in February.

However and whenever you observe Mother’s Day, it is a special day marked to acknowledge the important role mothers play and the sacrifice and often-unappreciated work that goes into being a mother. Here’s to mums everywhere!

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