Matthias Doepke, Moshe Hazan, and Yishay Maoz all argued that the baby boom was mainly caused by the alleged crowding out from the labor force of females who reached adulthood during the 1950s by females who started to work during the  Second World War  and did not quit their jobs after the economy recovered. [ 11 ]  Andriana Bellou and Emanuela Cardia promote a similar argument, but they claim women who entered the labor force during the  Great Depression  crowded out women who participated in the baby boom. [ 12 ]  Glenn Sandström disagrees with both variants of this interpretation based on the data from Sweden showing that an increase in nuptiality (which was one of the main causes of an increase in fertility) was limited to economically active women. He pointed out that in 1939 a law prohibiting the  firing of a woman when she got married  was passed in the country. [ 13 ]


Greenwood, Seshadri, and Vandenbroucke ascribe the baby boom to the diffusion of new household appliances that led to reduction of costs of childbearing. [ 14 ]  However Martha J. Bailey and William J. Collins criticize their explanation on the basis that improvement of household technology began before baby boom, differences and changes in ownership of appliances and electrification in U.S. counties are negatively correlated with birth rates
during baby boom, that the correlation between cohort fertility of the relevant women and access to electrical service in early adulthood is negative, and that  Amish  also experienced the baby boom. [ 15 ]


Judith Blake and Prithwis Das Gupta point out the increase in ideal family size in the times of baby boom. [ 16 ]


Peter Lindert partially attributed the baby boom to the extension of income tax to most of the US population in the early 1940s and newly created tax exemptions for children and married couples creating a new incentive for earlier marriage and higher fertility. [ 17 ]  It is proposed that because the taxation was progressive the baby boom was more pronounced among the richer population. [ 18 ]


In the United States and Canada, the baby boom was among the largest in the world. [ 19 ]  In 1946, live births in the U.S. surged from 222,721 in January to 339,499 in October. By the end of the 1940s, about 32 million babies had been born, compared with 24 million in the 1930s. In 1954, annual births first topped four million and did not drop below that figure until 1965, by which time four out of ten Americans were under the age of 20. [ 20 ]  As a result of the baby boom and traditional gender roles, getting married immediately after high school became commonplace and women increasingly encountered tremendous pressure to marry by the age of 20. A joke emerged at the time around comedic speculation that women were going to college to earn their  MRS degree  due to the increased marriage rate. [ 21 ]


The baby boom was stronger among American Catholics than among Protestants. [ 22 ]


The exact beginning and end of the baby boom is debated. The U.S. Census Bureau defines  baby boomers  as those born between mid-1946 and mid-1964, [ 2 ]  although the U.S. birth rate began to increase in 1941, and decline after 1957.  Deborah Carr  considers baby boomers to be those born between 1944 and 1959, [ 23 ]  while Strauss and Howe place the beginning of the baby boom in 1943. [ 24 ]   In Canada  the baby boom is usually defined as occurring from 1947 to 1966. Canadian soldiers were repatriated later than American servicemen, and Canada's birthrate did not start to rise until 1947. Most Canadian demographers prefer to use the later date of 1966 as the boom's end year in that country. The later end to the boom in Canada than in the US has been ascribed to a later adoption of  birth control pills . [ 25 ] [ 26 ]


In the United States, more babies were born during the seven years after 1948 than in the previous thirty, causing a shortage of teenage  babysitters . At one point during this period,  Madison, New Jersey  only had fifty babysitters for its population of 8,000, dramatically increasing demand for sitters. In 1950, out of every $7 that a California couple spent to go to the movies, $5 went to paying a babysitter. [ 27 ]


France and Austria experienced the strongest baby booms in Europe. [ 19 ]  In contrast to most other countries, the French and Austrian baby booms were driven primarily by an increase in marital fertility. [ 28 ]  In the French case, pronatalist policies were an important factor in this increase. [ 29 ]  Weaker baby booms occurred in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands. [ 30 ]


In the United Kingdom the baby boom occurred in two waves. After a short first wave of the baby boom during the war and immediately after, peaking in 1946, the United Kingdom experienced a second wave during the 1960s, with a peak in births in 1964 and a rapid fall after the  Abortion Act 1967  came into force. [ 31 ]


The baby boom in Ireland began during  the Emergency  declared in the country during the  Second World War . [ 32 ]  Laws on contraception were restrictive in Ireland, and the baby boom was more prolonged in this country. Secular decline of fertility began only in the 1970s and particularly after the  legalization of contraception in 1979 . The marriage boom was even more prolonged and did not recede until the 1980s. [ 33 ]


The baby boom was very strong in Norway and Iceland, significant in Finland, moderate in Sweden and relatively weak in Denmark. [ 19 ]


Baby boom was absent or not very strong in Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain. [ 19 ]  There were however regional variations in Spain, with a considerable baby boom occurring in regions such as  Catalonia . [ 34 ]


There was a strong baby boom in Czechoslovakia, but it was weak or absent in Poland, Bulgaria, Russia, Estonia and Lithuania, partly as a result of the  Soviet famine of 1946–1947 . [ 19 ] [ 35 ]


The volume of baby boom was the largest in the world in New Zealand and second-largest in Australia. [ 19 ]  Like the US, the New Zealand baby boom was stronger among Catholics than Protestants. [ 36 ]


The author and columnist  Bernard Salt  places the Australian baby boom between 1946 and 1961. [ 37 ] [ 38 ]


Many countries outside the west (among them Morocco, China and Turkey) also witnessed the baby boom. [ 39 ]  The baby boom in Mongolia is probably explained by improvement in health and living standards related to the adoption of technologies and modernisation. [ 40 ]


There was also a baby boom in Latin American countries, excepting Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. An increase in fertility was driven by a decrease in childlessness and, in most nations, by an increase in parity progression to second, third and fourth births. Its magnitude was largest in Costa Rica and Panama. [ 41 ]


Mother's Day  is a celebration honoring the  mother  of the family or individual, as well as  motherhood ,  maternal bonds , and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in March or May. It complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as  Father's Day ,  Siblings Day , and  Grandparents' Day .


In the 19th century in the British Isles, " Mothering Sunday " was celebrated on the fourth Sunday in Lent. On this day, clerics and curates were encouraged to use the time at their disposal to visit their original  mother churches .


While other countries also have a multi-century history of a day to celebrate mothers, the modern American version of the holiday began in the United States in the early 20th century at the initiative of  Anna Jarvis . She organized the first Mother's Day  service of worship  and celebration at  Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church  in  Grafton, West Virginia , which serves as the  International Mother's Day Shrine  today. [ 1 ]  It is not directly related to the many traditional celebrations of mothers and motherhood that have existed throughout the world over thousands of years, such as the  Greek  cult to  Cybele , the mother deity  Rhea , the Roman festival of  Hilaria , or the other Christian ecclesiastical  Mothering Sunday  celebration (associated with the image of  Mother Church ). [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]  However, in some countries, Mother's Day is still synonymous with these older traditions. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ]


The American version of Mother's Day has been criticized for having become too commercialized. [ 9 ] [ 10 ]  Jarvis herself, who began the celebration as a liturgical observance, regretted this  commercialism  and expressed that this was never her intention. [ 1 ] [ 11 ]  In response,  Constance Adelaide Smith  successfully advocated for  Mothering Sunday  as a commemoration of a broader definition of motherhood in many other parts of the  English-speaking world . [ 12 ]


The modern holiday was first celebrated in 1907, when  Anna Jarvis  held the first Mother's Day  service of worship  at  Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church  in  Grafton, West Virginia . [ 1 ] [ 13 ]  Andrew's Methodist Church now holds the  International Mother's Day Shrine . [ 1 ]  Her campaign to make Mother's Day a recognized holiday in the United States began in 1905, the year her mother,  Ann Reeves Jarvis , died. Ann Jarvis had been a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the  American Civil War , and created Mother's Day Work Clubs to address public health issues. She and another peace activist and suffragist,  Julia Ward Howe , had been urging for the creation of a "Mother's Day For Peace" where mothers would ask that their husbands and sons were no longer killed in wars. Forty years before it became an official holiday, Ward Howe had made her  Mother's Day Proclamation  in 1870, which called upon mothers of all nationalities to band together to promote the "amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace." [ 14 ]  Anna Jarvis wanted to honor this and to set aside a day to honor all mothers because she believed a mother is "the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world". [ 15 ]


In 1908, the  U.S. Congress  rejected a proposal to make Mother's Day an official holiday, joking that they would also have to proclaim a "Mother-in-law's Day". [ 16 ]  However, owing to the efforts of Anna Jarvis, by 1911 all U.S. states observed the holiday, [ 17 ]  with some of them officially recognizing Mother's Day as a local holiday [ 18 ]  (the first being West Virginia, Jarvis's home state, in 1910). In 1914, Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation designating Mother's Day, held on the second Sunday in May, as a national holiday to honor mothers. [ 19 ]


Although Jarvis, who started Mother's Day as a liturgical service, was successful in founding the celebration, she became resentful of the commercialization of the holiday, and it became associated with the phrase " Hallmark holiday ". By the early 1920s,  Hallmark Cards  and other companies had started selling Mother's Day cards. Jarvis believed that the companies had misinterpreted and exploited the idea of Mother's Day, and that the emphasis of the holiday was on sentiment, not profit. As a result, she organized boycotts of Mother's Day and threatened to issue  lawsuits  against the companies involved. [ 20 ]  Jarvis argued that people should appreciate and honor their mothers through handwritten letters expressing their love and gratitude, instead of buying gifts and pre-made cards. [ 19 ]  Jarvis protested at a candy makers' convention in  Philadelphia  in 1923, and at a meeting of  American War Mothers  in 1925. By this time,  carnations  had become associated with Mother's Day, and the selling of carnations by the American War Mothers to raise money angered Jarvis, who was arrested for  disturbing the peace . [ 19 ] [ 20 ]


In Britain, Constance Adelaide Smith was inspired to advocate for  Mothering Sunday , an already-existing Christian ecclesiastical celebration in which the faithful visit the church in which they received the  sacrament  of  baptism , as an equivalent celebration. [ 21 ] [ 22 ] [ 23 ] [ 24 ]  She referred to  medieval  traditions of celebrating  Mother Church , 'mothers of earthly homes',  Mary, mother of Jesus , and  Mother Nature . [ 23 ] [ 12 ]  Her efforts were successful in the  British Isles  and other parts of the English-speaking world. [ 25 ]


In 1912, Anna Jarvis trademarked the phrase "Second Sunday in May, Mother's Day, Anna Jarvis, Founder", and created the Mother's Day International Association. [ 26 ]  She specifically noted that "Mother's" should "be a singular possessive, for each family to honor its own mother, not a plural possessive commemorating all mothers in the world." [ 27 ]  This is also the spelling used by U.S. President  Woodrow Wilson  in his 1914 presidential proclamation, by the U.S. Congress in relevant bills, [ 28 ] [ 29 ]  and by various U.S. presidents in their proclamations concerning Mother's Day. [ 30 ]


While the United States holiday was adopted by some other countries, existing celebrations, held on different dates, honoring motherhood have become described as "Mother's Day", such as  Mothering Sunday  in the United Kingdom [ 31 ]  or, in Greece, the  Eastern Orthodox  celebration of the presentation of  Jesus Christ  to the temple (2 February of  Julian Calendar ). Both the secular and religious Mother Day are present in  Greece . [ 32 ]  Mothering Sunday is often referred to as "Mother's Day" even though it is an unrelated celebration. [ 31 ]


In some countries, the date adopted is one significant to the majority religion, such as  Virgin Mary  Day in Catholic countries. Other countries selected a date with historical significance. For example, Bolivia's Mother's Day is a fixed date, commemorating a battle in which women participated to defend their children. [ 33 ]


Some countries, such as  Russia , celebrate  International Women's Day  instead of Mother's Day [ 34 ]  or simply celebrate both holidays, which is the custom in Ukraine. Kyrgyzstan has recently introduced Mother's Day, but "year on year  International Women's Day  is certainly increasing in status". [ 35 ]


Second Sunday of February


11 February 2024
 9 February 2025
8 February 2026


Norway


3 March


Georgia [ 36 ]


8 March
(with  International Women's Day )


Fourth Sunday  in  Lent  ( Mothering Sunday )


10 March 2024
 30 March 2025
15 March 2026


21 March
(Spring  equinox )


25 March


Slovenia


7 April ( Annunciation  day)


Armenia  ( Motherhood and Beauty Day )


First Sunday of May


5 May 2024
 4 May 2025
3 May 2026


8 May


South Korea  ( Parents' Day )


10 May


Second Sunday of May


12 May 2024
 11 May 2025
10 May 2026


14 May


Benin


15 May


Paraguay  (same day as  Día de la Patria ) [ 50 ]


19 May


Kyrgyzstan  ( Russian :  День матери ,  Kyrgyz :  Энэ күнү )


26 May


Poland  ( Polish :  Dzień Matki )


27 May


Bolivia [ 33 ]


Last Sunday of May


26 May 2024
 25 May 2025
31 May 2026


Last Sunday of May, or first Sunday of June if the last Sunday of May is  Pentecost


France [ 38 ]
 French Antilles


30 May


Nicaragua [ 52 ]


1 June


Mongolia  (together with  Children's Day )


Second Sunday of June


9 June 2024
 8 June 2025
14 June 2026


Luxembourg


Afghanistan


First Monday of July


1 July 2024
 7 July 2025
6 July 2026


South Sudan


12 August


Thailand  (birthday of  Queen Sirikit )


15 August ( Assumption of Mary )


Antwerp  (Belgium)
   Costa Rica


21 September 2025
20 September 2026


14 October


Belarus  (since 1996 [ 53 ] )


15 October, or following work day


15 October 2024
 15 October 2025
15 October 2026


Malawi


Third Sunday of October


20 October 2024
 19 October 2025
18 October 2026


Argentina  ( Día de la Madre ) [ 54 ]


3 November


Timor Leste


16 November


North Korea [ 55 ]


Last Sunday of November


8 December ( Feast of the Immaculate Conception )


Panama [ 56 ]


22 December


Indonesia [ 57 ] ( Hari Ibu )


9 February 2024 28 February 2025 17 February 2026


Israel [ 58 ]  (Family Day)


Vaisakha [ 59 ]   Amavasya  (Mata Tirtha Aunsi [ 60 ] )


Nepal


Iran [ 61 ]


18 August 2024 6 September 2025 29 June 2026


Vietnam  ( Vu-lan Báo Hiếu )


In most countries, Mother's Day is an observance derived from the holiday as it has evolved in the  United States , promoted by companies who saw benefit in making it popular. [ 9 ]  As adopted by other countries and cultures, the holiday has different meanings, is associated with different events (religious, historical or legendary), and is celebrated on different dates.


In some cases, countries already had existing celebrations honoring motherhood, and their celebrations then adopted several external characteristics from the US holiday, such as giving carnations and other presents to one's mother.


The extent of the celebrations varies greatly. In some countries, it is potentially offensive to one's mother not to mark Mother's Day. In others, it is a little-known festival celebrated mainly by immigrants, or covered by the media as a taste of foreign culture. [ citation needed ]


In certain traditional branches of  Christianity , the holiday is strongly associated with revering the  Virgin Mary . [ 62 ]  In some Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican homes, families have a special shrine on their  home altar  devoted to the  Blessed Virgin Mary . [ 63 ]  In many Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, a special prayer service is held in honor of the  Theotokos  Virgin Mary. [ 64 ] [ 65 ]


In  Islam , special attention is paid to mothers.  The Prophet Muhammad  said in this regard: ″The Paradise is beneath mother's feet″ [ 66 ]
Also there is no concept of Mother's Day in  Islam , but the  Quran  teaches that children should give priority to loving their mother over their father. [ 67 ]
 Quran  the holy book of  Muslims  has mentioned the status and respect of  Mother  in many verses: Surah  Al-Isra , verse 23,  Al-Ahqaf , verse 15,  Luqman , verse 14 and  Al-Baqarah , verse 233, is one of them.


In  Hindu  tradition, Mother's Day is called " Mata Tirtha Aunshi " or "Mother Pilgrimage fortnight", and is celebrated in countries with a Hindu population, especially in Nepal, where mothers are honored with special foods. The holiday is observed on the new moon day in the month of  Baisakh , i.e., April/May. This celebration is based on the Hindu religion and it pre-dates the creation of the US-inspired celebration by at least a few centuries. [ 68 ]


In  Buddhism , the festival of  Ullambana  is derived from the story of  Maudgalyayana and his mother . [ 69 ]


In Albania, as in a number of Balkan and Eastern European countries, Mother's Day is celebrated on 8 March, in conjunction with  International Women's Day . [ 70 ]


Mother's Day in most Arab countries is celebrated on 21 March. It was introduced in Egypt by journalist  Mustafa Amin [ 71 ]  and was first celebrated in 1956. [ 72 ]  The practice has since been adopted by other Arab countries. [ citation needed ]


In  Argentina , Mother's Day is celebrated on the third Sunday of October. The holiday was originally celebrated on 11 October, the old liturgical date for the celebration of the  Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary  but after the  Second Vatican Council , which moved the Virgin Mary festivity to 1 January, the Mother's Day started to be celebrated the third Sunday of October because of popular tradition. [ 54 ]   Argentina  is the only country in the world that celebrates Mother's Day on this date. [ 73 ]


In  Armenia , Mother's Day is celebrated on 8 March, and on 7 April as  Maternity and Beauty Day .


In Australia, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Australia celebrated Mother’s Day for the first time in 1910 with special church services, however, it was not popularly observed until the 1920s. [ 74 ] [ 75 ]  Because it is autumn in Australia for Mother’s Day, and carnations are a spring flower, white chrysanthemums are the traditional Mother’s Day flower in Australia. [ 76 ]


There is no historical tradition of celebrating Mother's Day in Bangladesh ( Bangla : মা/আম্মু দিবস,  Ma/ammu dibosh ), and it has become popular in the country due to western influences. It is celebrated on the second Sunday of May and is not a  public holiday . Mother's Day was not very popular and in recent times it has been spread more widely by the  Millennial  and  Generation Z  communities across the country through  social media . Although many religious families do not celebrate it, it is more widespread than ever before. There is a popular phrase used by many parents, including mothers, which is "Every day is Father's/Mother's Day so you will love your parents every day." Most people just wish or pray for their mother, but many from  big cities  like  Dhaka ,  Chittagong ,  Khulna ,  Sylhet ,  Barishal ,  Narayangonj ,  Bogura  etc. go to restaurants to celebrate, many also cut cakes. Many others cut cakes at home or  order meals online . Some children may give small gifts to their mothers.


Belarus celebrates Mother's Day on 14 October. Like other ex-Communist republics, Belarus used to celebrate only International Women's Day on 8 March. Mother's Day in Belarus was officially established by the Belarusian government, and it was celebrated for the first time in 1996. [ 53 ]  The celebration of the Virgin Mary (the holiday of Protection of the Holy Mother of God) is celebrated on the same day. [ 77 ]


Mother's Day in  Bhutan  is celebrated on 8 May. It was introduced in Bhutan by the Tourism Council of Bhutan. [ 78 ]


In  Belgium , Mother's Day ( Moederdag  or  Moederkesdag  in  Dutch  and  Fête des Mères  in  French ) is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. In the week before this holiday children make little presents at primary school, which they give to their mothers in the early morning of Mother's Day. Typically, the father will buy  croissants  and other sweet breads and pastries and bring these to the mother while she is still in bed – the beginning of a day of pampering for the mother. There are also many people who celebrate Mother's Day on 15 August instead; these are mostly people around  Antwerp , who consider that day ( Assumption ) the classical Mother's Day and the observance in May an invention for commercial reasons. It was originally established on that day as the result of a campaign by  Frans Van Kuyck , a painter and Alderman from Antwerp. [ 79 ]


In  Bolivia , Mother's Day is celebrated on 27 May. El  Día de la Madre Boliviana  was passed into law on 8 November 1927, during the presidency of  Hernando Siles Reyes . The date commemorates the  Battle of La Coronilla , which took place on 27 May 1812, during the  Bolivian War of Independence , in what is now the city of  Cochabamba . In this battle, women fighting for the country's independence were slaughtered by the Spanish army. It is not a public holiday, but all schools hold activities and festivities throughout the day. [ 33 ]


In  Brazil , Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. The first Mother's Day in Brazil was promoted by Associação Cristã de Moços de  Porto Alegre  ( Young Men's Christian Association  of Porto Alegre) on 12 May 1918. In 1932, then President  Getúlio Vargas  made the second Sunday of May the official date for Mother's Day. In 1947, Archbishop  Jaime de Barros Câmara , Cardinal-Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, decided that this holiday would also be included in the official calendar of the Catholic Church. [ citation needed ]


Mother's Day is not an official holiday (see  Public holidays in Brazil ), but it is widely observed and typically involves spending time with and giving gifts to one's mother. Because of this, it is considered one of the celebrations most related to  consumerism  in the country, second only to  Christmas Day  as the most commercially lucrative holiday. [ 80 ]


Mother's Day in Canada is celebrated on the second Sunday in May (it is not a public holiday or bank holiday), and typically involves small celebrations and gift-giving to one's mother, grandmother, or other important female figures in one's family. [ 81 ]  Celebratory practices are very similar to those of other western nations. A Québécois tradition is for Québécois men to offer roses or other flowers to the women. [ 82 ]


Mother's Day is becoming more popular in  China . Carnations are a very popular Mother's Day gift and the most sold flowers in relation to the day. [ 83 ]  In 1997 Mother's Day was set as the day to help poor mothers and to remind people of the poor mothers in rural areas such as China's western region. [ 83 ]  In the  People's Daily , the Chinese government's official newspaper, an article explained that "despite originating in the United States, people in China accept the holiday without hesitation because it is in line with the country's traditional ethics – respect for the elderly and filial piety towards parents." [ 83 ]


In recent years, the Communist Party member Li Hanqiu began to advocate for the official adoption of Mother's Day in memory of Meng Mu, the mother of  Mèng Zǐ . He formed a non-governmental organization called  Chinese Mothers' Festival Promotion Society , with the support of 100 Confucian scholars and lecturers of ethics. [ 84 ] [ 85 ]  Li and the Society want to replace the Western-style gift of carnations with  lilies , which, in ancient times, were planted by Chinese mothers when children left home. [ 85 ]  Mother's Day remains an unofficial festival, except in a small number of cities. [ 86 ]


In  Costa Rica , Mother's Day is celebrated on 15 August. In 1927, at the Nicolás Ulloa School in Heredia, Evangelina Solís founded an annual event that would celebrate the mothers of the students. It was held around the time of the distribution of midterm notes, in July. Evangelina's reasoning was that mothers should be congratulated for their children's successes. [ 87 ]  The event gained national traction and was enacted into law in 1932. The final date of 15 August was chosen as it coincided with the celebration of  Assumption of Mary , mother of Jesus. [ 88 ]


In the  Czech Republic , Mother's Day is celebrated every second Sunday in May. It started in former Czechoslovakia in 1923. [ 47 ]  The promoter of this celebration was  Alice Masaryková . [ 47 ]  After World War II communists replaced Mother's Day with International Woman's Day, celebrated on 8 March. [ 47 ]  The former Czechoslovakia celebrated Women's Day until the  Velvet Revolution  in 1989. [ 47 ]  After the split of the country in 1993, the  Czech Republic  started celebrating Mother's Day again. [ 47 ]


Mother's Day in  Egypt  is celebrated on 21 March, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere. It was introduced in Egypt by journalist  Mustafa Amin [ 71 ]  in his book  Smiling America  (1943). The idea was overlooked at the time. Later Amin heard the story of a widowed mother who devoted her whole life to raising her son until he became a doctor. The son then married and left without showing any gratitude to his mother. Hearing this, Amin became motivated to promote "Mother's Day". The idea was first ridiculed by president  Gamal Abdel Nasser  but he eventually accepted it and Mother's Day was first celebrated on 21 March 1956. The practice has since been copied by other Arab countries. [ 89 ]


When Mustafa Amin was arrested and imprisoned, the government changed the name of the holiday from "Mother's Day" to "Family Day", but they reverted the name after Egyptian mothers wrote to complain.  Celebrations continued to be held on the same date  [ 90 ]  and classic songs celebrating mothers remain famous to this day. [ 91 ]


Mother's Day is celebrated for three days in  Ethiopia , after the end of the rainy season. It comes in mid-fall where people enjoy a three-day feast called "Antrosht". [ 92 ]


For the feast, ingredients will be brought by the children for a traditional hash recipe. The ingredients are divided along genders, with girls bringing spices, vegetables, cheese and butter, while the boys bring a lamb or bull. The mother hands out the hash to the family. [ 93 ]


A celebration takes place after the meal. The mothers and daughters anoint themselves using butter on their faces and chests. While honoring their family and heroes, men sing songs. [ 94 ]


In  Estonia , Mother's Day ( emadepäev  in  Estonian ) is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. It is recognized nationally, but is not a public holiday. [ 95 ]


In  Finland , Mother's Day ( äitienpäivä  in  Finnish ) is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. It is recognized nationally and is a public holiday. It is usually celebrated at homes where children or grandchildren bring Mother's day cards that they have drawn to their mothers and grandmothers. Usually, some food, coffee and cakes are served for guests. Grown up children visit their parents' homes and bring traditionally Mother's day roses or other flowers accompanied by a Mother's day card.
The president of Finland honors with medals every year some mothers who have done something exceptional and positive during the year. [ 96 ]


In  France , amidst alarm at the low birth rate, there were attempts in 1896 and 1904 to create a national celebration honoring the mothers of large families. [ 97 ]  In 1906 ten mothers who had nine children each were given an award recognising "High Maternal Merit" ("Haut mérite maternel"). [ 98 ]  American World War I soldiers fighting in France popularized the US Mother's Day holiday created by Anna Jarvis. They sent so much mail back to their country for Mother's Day that the  Union Franco-Américaine  created a postal card for that purpose. [ 97 ]  In 1918, also inspired by Jarvis, the town of Lyon wanted to celebrate a "journée des Mères", but instead decided to celebrate a "Journée Nationale des Mères de familles nombreuses." The holiday was more inspired by anti-depopulation efforts than by the US holiday, with medals awarded to the mothers of large families. [ 97 ]  The French government made the day official in 1920 as a day for mothers of large families. [ 99 ]  Since then the French government awards the  Médaille de la Famille française  to mothers of large families. [ 100 ]


In 1941, by an initiative of  Philippe Pétain , the wartime  Vichy  government used the celebration in support of their policy to encourage larger families, but all mothers were now honored, even mothers with smaller families. [ 99 ]


In 1950, after the war, the celebration was reinstated. The law of 24 May 1950 required (in Article 1) that the Republic pay official homage to French Mothers. Article 2 stated it should be celebrated on the last Sunday in May as the "Fête des Mères" (except when Pentecost fell on that day, in which case it was moved to the first Sunday in June). Article 3 stated that all expenditure shall be covered from the budget of the Ministry of Public Health and Population. [ 101 ]


During the 1950s, the celebration lost all its patriotic and natalist ideologies, and became heavily commercialized. [ 97 ]


In 1956, the celebration was given a budget and integrated into the new  Code de l'action Sociale et des familles . In 2004 responsibility for the holiday was transferred to the Minister responsible for families. [ citation needed ]


Georgia  celebrates Mother's Day on 3 March. It was declared by the first President of Georgia  Zviad Gamsakhurdia  in order to replace the International Women Day, and it was officially approved by the Supreme Council in 1991. Nowadays Georgia celebrates both Mother's Day on 3 March and International Women's Day on 8 March. [ 36 ]


In the 1920s,  Germany  had the lowest birthrate in Europe, and the declining trend was continuing. This was attributed to women's participation in the labor market. At the same time, influential groups in society (politicians of left and right, churchwomen, and feminists) believed that mothers should be honored but could not agree on how to do so. However, all groups strongly agreed on the promotion of the values of motherhood. In 1923, this resulted in the unanimous adoption of  Muttertag , the Mother's Day holiday as imported from America. [ 102 ]  The head of the Association of German Florists cited "the inner conflict of our  Volk  and the loosening of the family" as his reason for introducing the holiday. He expected that the holiday would unite the divided country. In 1925, the Mother's Day Committee joined the task force for the recovery of the  volk , and the holiday stopped depending on commercial interests and began emphasizing the need to increase the population in Germany by promoting motherhood. [ 103 ]


The holiday was then seen as a means to encourage women to bear more children, which nationalists saw as a way to rejuvenate the nation. The holiday did not celebrate individual women, but an idealized standard of motherhood. The progressive forces resisted the implementation of the holiday because it was backed by so many conservatives and because they saw it as a way to eliminate the rights of working women.  Die Frau , the newspaper of the Federation of German Women's Associations, refused to recognize the holiday. Many local authorities adopted their own interpretation of the holiday: it would be a day to support economically larger families or single-mother families. The guidelines for the subsidies had  eugenics  criteria, but there is no indication that social workers ever implemented them in practice, and subsidies were given preferentially to families in economic need rather than to families with more children or "healthier" children. [ 103 ]


With the Nazi party in power during 1933–1945, the situation changed radically. The promotion of Mother's Day increased in many European countries, including the UK and France. From the position of the German Nazi government, the role of mothers was to give healthy children to the German nation. The Nazi party's intention was to create a pure "Aryan race" according to  nazi eugenics . Among other Mother's Day ideas, the government promoted the death of a mother's sons in battle as the highest embodiment of patriotic motherhood. [ 103 ] [ 104 ]


The Nazis quickly declared Mother's Day an official holiday and put it under the control of the NSV ( National Socialist People's Welfare Association ) and the NSF ( National Socialist Women Organization ). This created conflicts with other organizations that resented Nazi control of the holiday, including Catholic and Protestant churches and local women's organizations. Local authorities resisted the guidelines from the Nazi government and continued assigning resources to families who were in economic need, much to the dismay of the Nazi officials. [ 103 ]


In 1938, the government began issuing an award called  Mother's Cross  ( Mutterkreuz ), according to categories that depended on the number of children a mother had. The medal was awarded on Mother's Day and also on other holidays due to a large number of recipients. The Cross was an effort to encourage women to have more children, and recipients were required to have at least four. [ 103 ] [ 104 ]


In  Hungary , Mother's Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of May. [ 105 ]  It was first celebrated in 1925 [ 106 ]  by the Hungarian  Red Cross Youth . [ 107 ]


The modern Mother's Day has been assimilated into  Indian  culture [ 108 ]  and is celebrated every year on the second Sunday of May. [ 109 ] [ 110 ]  Indians do not celebrate the occasion as a religious event; its celebration is mostly restricted to urban areas where the occasion has been largely commercialized. [ 111 ]


Indonesian  Mother's Day ( Indonesian :  Hari Ibu ) is celebrated nationally on 22 December. The date was made an official holiday by President  Sukarno  under Presidential Decree No. 316/1953, on the 25th anniversary of the 1928 Indonesian Women Congress. The day originally sought to celebrate the spirit of Indonesian women and to improve the condition of the nation. Today, the meaning of Mother's Day has changed, and it is celebrated by expressing love and gratitude to mothers. People present gifts to mothers (such as flowers) and hold surprise parties and competitions, which include cooking and  kebaya  wearing. People also allow mothers a day off from domestic chores. [ 112 ]


The holiday is celebrated on the anniversary of the opening day of the first Indonesian Women Congress ( Kongres Perempuan Indonesia ), which was held from 22 to 25 December 1928. [ 57 ] [ 113 ]  The Congress took place in a building called Dalem Jayadipuran, which now serves as the office of the Center of History and Traditional Values Preservation ( Balai Pelestarian Sejarah dan Nilai Tradisional ) in Brigjen Katamso Street,  Yogyakarta . The Congress was attended by 30 feminist organizations from 12 cities in  Java  and  Sumatra . In Indonesia, feminist organizations have existed since 1912, inspired by Indonesian heroines of the 19th century, e.g.,  Kartini ,  Martha Christina Tiahahu ,  Cut Nyak Meutia ,  Maria Walanda Maramis ,  Dewi Sartika ,  Nyai Ahmad Dahlan ,  Rasuna Said , etc. [ 57 ]  The Congress intended to improve women's rights in education and marriage. [ 114 ]


Indonesia also celebrates the  Kartini Day  ( Hari Kartini ) on 21 April, in memory of activist  Raden Ajeng Kartini . This is a celebration of the emancipation of women. [ 113 ]  The observance was instituted at the 1938 Indonesian Women Congress. [ 114 ]


During President  Suharto 's  New Order  (1965–1998), government propaganda used Mother's Day and Kartini Day to inculcate into women the idea that they should be docile and stay at home. [ 114 ]


In  Iran , Mother's Day is celebrated on 20  Jumada al-thani . This is the sixth month in the Islamic calendar (a lunar calendar) and every year the holiday falls on a different day of the Gregorian calendar. This is the birthday anniversary of  Fatimah , the Islamic prophet  Muhammad 's only daughter according to  Shia Islam . [ 61 ] [ 115 ]  On this day, banners reading " Ya Fatemeah  (O! Fatemeh)" are displayed on "government buildings, private buildings, public streets and car windows." [ 61 ]  Mother's Day was originally observed on 16 December but the date was changed after the  Iranian Revolution  in 1979. The celebration is both Women's Day (replacing International Women's Day) and Mother's Day. [ 61 ] [ 116 ]


In 1960, the Institute for Women Protection adopted the Western holiday and established it on 25  Azar  (16 December), the date the Institute was founded. The Institute's action had the support of Empress  Farah Pahlavi , the wife of the last Shah of Persia, who promoted the construction of maternity clinics in remote parts of the country to commemorate the day. [ 117 ]   Pahlavi regime  used the holiday to promote "gender ideologies" of the regime. [ 61 ]  The Shah's government honored and gave awards to women who represented the idealized view of the regime, including mothers who had many healthy children. [ 117 ]


According to Shahla Haeri, the Islamic Republic government has used the holiday to "control and channel women's movements" and to promote role models for the traditional concept of family. [ 118 ]  Fatimah is seen by these critics as the chosen model of a woman completely dedicated to certain traditionally sanctioned feminine roles. [ 119 ]  However, supporters of the choice contend that there is much more to her life story than simply such "traditional" roles. [ 120 ]


In  Ireland , Mother's Day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of  Lent , as in the United Kingdom, and has the same roots in  Mothering Sunday . The practice died out in Ireland around the late 18th century but was revived around the 1950s due to  Americanisation . [ 121 ] [ 122 ] [ 123 ]


The Jewish population of Israel used to celebrate Mother's Day on  Shevat  30 of the Jewish calendar, which falls between 30 January and 1 March. The celebration was set as the same date that  Henrietta Szold  died (13 February 1945). Henrietta had no biological children, but her organization  Youth Aliyah  rescued many Jewish children from Nazi Germany and provided for them. She also championed children's rights. Szold is considered the "mother" of all those children, and that is why her annual remembrance day (יום השנה) was set as Mother's Day (יוֹם הָאֵם, yom ha'em). The holiday has evolved over time, becoming a celebration of mutual love inside the family, called Family Day (יוֹם הַמִשְּפָּחָה, yom hamishpacha). This holiday is mainly celebrated in preschools with an activity to which parents are invited. Mother's Day is mainly celebrated by children at kindergartens. There are no longer mutual gifts among members of the family, and there is no longer any commercialization of the celebration. It is not an official holiday. [ 58 ]


Mother's Day in  Italy  was celebrated for the first time on 24 December 1933 as the "Day of the mother and the child" ( Giornata della madre e del fanciullo ). It was instituted by the  Opera nazionale maternità e infanzia  in order to publicly reward the most prolific Italian women every year. [ 124 ]


After  World War II , Mother's Day was first celebrated on 12 May 1957 in  Assisi , at the initiative of Reverend Otello Migliosi, the  parish priest  of the  Tordibetto  church. [ 125 ]  This celebration was so popular that in the following year Mother's Day was adopted throughout Italy. On 18 December 1958, a proposal was presented to the  Italian Senate  to make the holiday official. [ 126 ]


In  Japan , Mother's Day  ( 母の日 ,  Haha no Hi )  was initially commemorated during the  Shōwa period  as the birthday of  Empress Kōjun  (mother of  Emperor Akihito ) on 6 March. This was established in 1931 when the Imperial Women's Union was organized. In 1937, the first meeting of "Praise Mothers" was held on 8 May, and in 1949 Japanese society adopted the second Sunday of May as the official date for Mother's Day in Japan. Today, people typically give their mothers gifts of flowers such as red  carnations [ 127 ]  and  roses . Giving carnations on Mother's Day is the most common in Japan. [ citation needed ]


In  Kyrgyzstan , Mother's Day is celebrated on 19 May every year. The holiday was first celebrated in 2012. [ 128 ]  Mothers are also honored on  International Women's Day [ 129 ]


Mother's Day in  Latvia  was celebrated for the first time in 1922. Since 1934, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. [ 130 ]  After the end of the Soviet  occupation of Baltic states  celebration was resumed in 1992. [ 131 ]  Mothers are also honored on  International Women's Day . [ 132 ]


Mother's Day in Lithuania was celebrated for the first time in 1928. In Lithuania, Mother's Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of May.


In  Malawi , Mother's Day is a public holiday. The day is observed on 15 October or the following workday. It is celebrated on the UN's World Rural Women's Day.


In the  Maldives , Mother's Day is celebrated on 13 May. The day is celebrated in different ways. Children give gifts and spend time with their mothers. Daughters give their mothers cards and handmade gifts and sons give their mothers gifts and flowers. Maldivians love to celebrate Mother's day, and they have it specially written on their calendar. [ citation needed ]


The first mention of Mother's Day in  Malta  occurred during the Radio Children's Programmes run by Frans H. Said in May 1961. Within a few years, Mother's Day became one of the most popular dates in the Maltese calendar. In Malta, this day is commemorated on the second Sunday in May. Mothers are invariably given gifts and invited for lunch, usually at a good quality restaurant. [ citation needed ]


In  Mexico , the government of  Álvaro Obregón  imported the Mother's Day holiday from the US in 1922, and the newspaper  Excélsior  held a massive promotional campaign for the holiday that year. [ 133 ]  The conservative government tried to use the holiday to promote a more conservative role for mothers in families, but that perspective was criticized by the socialists as promoting an unrealistic image of a woman who was not good for much more than breeding. [ 133 ]


In the mid-1930s, the leftist government of  Lázaro Cárdenas  promoted the holiday as a "patriotic festival". The Cárdenas government tried to use the holiday as a vehicle for various efforts: to stress the importance of families as the basis for national development; to benefit from the loyalty that Mexicans felt towards their mothers; to introduce new morals to Mexican women; and to reduce the influence that the church and the Catholic right exerted over women. [ 134 ]  The government sponsored the holiday in the schools. [ 134 ]  However, ignoring the strict guidelines from the government, theatre plays were filled with religious icons and themes. Consequently, the "national celebrations" became "religious fiestas" despite the efforts of the government. [ 134 ]


Soledad Orozco García, the wife of President  Manuel Ávila Camacho , promoted the holiday during the 1940s, resulting in an important state-sponsored celebration. [ 135 ]  The 1942 celebration lasted a full week and included an announcement that all women could reclaim their pawned sewing machines from the  Monte de Piedad  at no cost. [ 135 ]


Due to Orozco's promotion, the Catholic  National Synarchist Union  (UNS) took heed of the holiday around 1941. [ 136 ]  Shop-owner members of the Party of the Mexican Revolution (now the  Institutional Revolutionary Party ) observed a custom allowing women from humble classes to pick a free Mother's Day gift from a shop to bring home to their families. The Synarchists worried that this promoted both materialism and the idleness of lower classes, and in turn, reinforced the systemic social problems of the country. [ 137 ]  Currently this holiday practice is viewed as very conservative, but the 1940s' UNS saw Mother's Day as part of the larger debate on the modernization that was happening at the time. [ 138 ]  This economic modernization was inspired by US models and was sponsored by the state. The fact that the holiday was originally imported from the US was seen as evidence of an attempt at imposing capitalism and materialism in Mexican society. [ 138 ]


The UNS and the clergy of the city of  León  interpreted the government's actions as an effort to secularize the holiday and to promote a more active role for women in society. They concluded that the government's long-term goal was to cause women to abandon their traditional roles at home in order to spiritually weaken men. [ 138 ]  They also saw the holiday as an attempt to secularize the cult to the Virgin Mary, inside a larger effort to dechristianize several holidays. The government sought to counter these claims by organizing widespread masses and asking religious women to assist with the state-sponsored events in order to "depaganize" them. [ 139 ]  The clergy preferred to promote 2 July celebration of the Santísima  Virgen de la Luz , the patron of  León, Guanajuato , in replacement of Mother's Day. [ 136 ]  In 1942, at the same time as Soledad's greatest celebration of Mother's Day, the clergy organized the 210th celebration of the Virgin Mary with a large parade in León. [ 139 ]


There is a consensus among scholars that the Mexican government abandoned its revolutionary initiatives during the 1940s, including its efforts to influence Mother's Day. [ 136 ]


Today the "Día de las Madres" is an unofficial holiday in Mexico held each year on 10 May, [ 140 ]  the day on which it was first celebrated in Mexico. [ 141 ]


In Mexico, to show affection and appreciation to the mother, it is traditional to start the celebration with the famous song "Las Mañanitas", either a cappella, with the help of a mariachi or a contracted trio. Families usually gather to celebrate, trying to spend as much time as possible with mothers to honor them. They bring some dishes and eat together or visit a restaurant. [ 142 ]


In Myanmar, Mothers' Day (the plural form of mother is used as an official title [ 143 ] ) is celebrated on the full moon day of  Pyatho , the tenth month of the Myanmar calendar, which usually falls in January. [ 144 ]  At the proposal and initiative of  U Thukha , who put a lot of effort into founding this day, it was first celebrated in  Mandalay  on the full moon day of Pyatho in 1995, but it was officially added to the Myanmar calendar in 1997, two years after its first celebration. [ 145 ]


People who are away from home, send postcards or phone their mothers to express love and gratitude and those who live with their mother, give her personal service, like bathing or shampooing, and usually take her to pagodas. [ 146 ]


In  Nepal , there is a festival equivalent to Mother's Day, called Mata Tirtha Aunsi ("Mother Pilgrimage New Moon"), or Mata Tirtha  Puja  ("Mother Pilgrimage Worship"). It is celebrated according to the lunar calendar. It falls on the last day of the dark fortnight in the month of  Baishakh  which falls in April–May (in 2015, it will occur on 18 April). The dark fortnight lasts for 15 days from the full moon to the new moon. This festival is observed to commemorate and honor mothers, and it is celebrated by giving gifts to mothers and remembering mothers who are no more. [ citation needed ]


To honor mothers who have died, it is the tradition to go on a pilgrimage to the Mata Tirtha ponds, located 6 km to the southwest of downtown  Kathmandu . The nearby  Mata Tirtha  village is named after these ponds. Previously, the tradition was observed primarily by the  Newar  community and other people living in the  Kathmandu Valley . Now this festival is widely celebrated across the country. [ citation needed ]


Many tragic  folklore  legends have been created, suggesting different reasons why this pond became a pilgrimage site. The most popular version says that, in ancient times, the mother of a shepherd died, and he made offerings to a nearby pond. There he saw the face of his mother in the water, with her hand taking the offerings. Since then, many people have visited the pond, hoping to see their deceased mother's face. Pilgrims believe that they will bring peace to their mothers' souls by visiting the sacred place. There are two ponds. The larger one is for ritual bathing. The smaller one is used to "look upon mother's face", and is fenced by iron bars to prevent people from bathing in it. [ citation needed ]


Traditionally, in the Kathmandu valley the South-Western corner is reserved for women and women-related rituals, and the North-Eastern is for men and men-related rituals. The worship place for Mata Tirtha Aunsi is located in Mata Tirtha in the South-Western half of the valley, while the worship place for  Gokarna Aunsi , the equivalent celebration for deceased fathers is located in  Gokarna, Nepal , in the North-Eastern half. This division is reflected in many aspects of the life in Kathmandu valley. [ 147 ]


Mother's Day is known as Aama ko Mukh Herne Din in  Nepali , which literally means "day to see mother's face". In  Nepal Bhasa , the festival is known as Mām yā Khwā Swayegu, which can be translated as "to look upon mother's face". [ citation needed ]


In the  Netherlands , Mother's Day was introduced as early as 1910 by the Dutch branch of the  Salvation Army . [ 148 ]  The Royal Dutch Society for Horticulture and Botany, a group protecting the interest of Dutch florists, worked to promote the holiday; they hoped to emulate the commercial success achieved by American florists. [ 149 ]  They were imitating the campaign already underway by florists in Germany and Austria, but they were aware that the traditions had originated in the US. [ 149 ]


Florists launched a major promotional effort in 1925. This included the publication of a book of articles written by famous intellectuals, radio broadcasts, newspapers ads, and the collaboration of priests and teachers who wanted to promote the celebration for their own reasons. [ 149 ]  In 1931 the second Sunday of May was adopted as the official celebration date. In the mid-1930s the slogan  Moederdag – Bloemendag  (Mother's Day – Flowers' Day) was coined, and the phrase was popular for many years. [ 150 ]  In the 1930s and 1940s "Mother's Day cakes" were given as gifts in hospitals and to the  Dutch Queen , who is known as the "mother of the country". [ 150 ]  Other trade groups tried to cash in on the holiday and to give new meaning to the holiday in order to promote their own wares as gifts. [ 150 ]


Roman Catholic priests complained that the holiday interfered with the honoring of the Virgin Mary, the divine mother, which took place during the whole month of May. In 1926 Mother's Day was celebrated on 7 July in order to address these complaints. [ 151 ]  Catholic organizations and priests tried to Christianize the holiday, but those attempts were rendered futile around the 1960s when the church lost influence and the holiday was completely secularized. [ 151 ]


In later years, the initial resistance disappeared, and even leftist newspapers stopped their criticism and endorsed Mother's Day. [ 152 ]


In the 1980s, the American origin of the holiday was still not widely known, so feminist groups who opposed the perpetuation of gender roles sometimes claimed that Mother's Day was invented by Nazis and celebrated on the birthday of  Klara Hitler , Hitler's mother. [ 153 ]


In  New Zealand , Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Mother's Day is not a public holiday. The New Zealand tradition is to send or give cards and gifts and at-home youngsters to attempt to serve mothers a variation on breakfast in bed. [ 154 ]


In  Nicaragua , the  Día de la Madre  has been celebrated on 30 May since the early 1940s. The date was chosen by President  Anastasio Somoza García  because it was the birthday of Casimira Sacasa, his wife's mother. [ 52 ]


Mother's Day is celebrated on 16 November as a  public holiday in North Korea . The date takes its significance from the First National Meeting of Mothers held in 1961, for which  Kim Il Sung , the  leader of the country , published a work called  The Duty of Mothers in the Education of Children . The date was designated as Mother's Day in May 2012 by the  Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly  but only became a public holiday and appeared on the  North Korean calendar  starting in 2015. [ 55 ]


Mother's Day was first celebrated on 9 February 1919 and was initially organized by religious institutions. Later it has become a family day, and the mother is often treated to breakfast in bed, flowers and cake. [ 155 ] [ better source needed ]


It has gradually become a major commercial event, with special pastries, flowers and other presents offered by retailers. Day-cares and primary schools often encourage children to make cards and other gifts. [ citation needed ]


In  Pakistan , Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. Media channels celebrate with special shows. Individuals honor their mothers by giving gifts and commemorative articles. Individuals who have lost their mothers pray and pay their respects to their loved ones lost. Schools hold special programs in order to acknowledge the efforts of their mothers. [ 156 ]


In  Panama , Mother's Day is celebrated on 8 December, the same day as the  Feast of the Immaculate Conception . This date was suggested in 1930 by the wife of Panama's President  Florencio Harmodio Arosemena . 8 December was adopted as Mother's Day under Law 69, which was passed the same year. [ 56 ]


According to another account, in 1924 the  Rotary Club  of Panama asked that Mother's Day be celebrated on 11 May. Politician Aníbal D. Ríos changed the proposal so that the celebration would be held on 8 December. He then established Mother's Day as a national holiday on that date. [ 157 ]


In  Paraguay , Mother's Day is celebrated on 15 May, the same day as the  Dia de la Patria , which celebrates the  independence of Paraguay . [ 50 ]  This date was chosen to honor the role played by Juana María de Lara in the events of 14 May 1811 that led to Paraguay's independence. [ 158 ]


In 2008, the Paraguayan Minister of Culture, Bruno Barrios, lamented this coincidence because, in Paraguay, Mother's Day is much more popular than independence day and the independence celebration goes unnoticed. As a result, Barrios asked that the celebration be moved to the end of the month. [ 159 ]  A group of young people attempted to gather 20,000 signatures to ask the Parliament to move Mother's Day. [ 159 ]  In 2008, the  Comisión de festejos  (Celebration Committee) of the city of  Asunción  asked that Mother's Day be moved to the second Sunday of May. [ 160 ]


In the  Philippines , Mother's Day is officially celebrated on the second Sunday of May, but it is not a public holiday. [ 161 ]  Although not a traditional Filipino holiday, the occasion owes its popularity to  American Colonial Period  influence.


According to a 2008 article by the  Philippine News Agency , in 1921 the  Ilocos Norte  Federation of Women's Clubs asked to declare the first Monday of December as Mother's Day "to honor these fabulous women who brought forth God's children into this world." In response,  Governor-General   Charles Yeater  issued Circular No. 33 declaring the celebration. In 1937  President   Manuel L. Quezon  issued Presidential Proclamation No. 213, changing the name of the occasion from "Mother's Day" to "Parent's Day" to address the complaints that there wasn't a "Father's Day". In 1980 President  Ferdinand Marcos  issued Presidential Proclamation No. 2037 proclaiming the date as both Mother's Day and Father's Day. In 1988 President  Corazon Aquino  issued Presidential Proclamation No. 266, changing Mother's Day to the second Sunday of May, and Father's Day to the third Sunday of June, discontinuing the traditional date. [ 162 ]  In 1998 President  Joseph Estrada  returned both celebrations to the first Monday of December. [ 161 ]


In  Portugal , the "Dia da Mãe" ("Mother's Day") is an unofficial holiday held each year on the first Sunday of May (sometimes coinciding with  Labour Day ). In the weeks leading up to this Sunday, school children spend a few hours a day preparing a gift for their mothers, aided by their school teachers. In general, mothers receive gifts from their family members and this day is meant to be celebrated with the whole family.
It used to be celebrated on 8 December, the same date as the Conception of the Virgin celebration. [ citation needed ]


In  Romania , Mother's Day has been celebrated on the first Sunday of May since 2010. Law 319/2009 made both Mother's Day and Father's Day official holidays in Romania. The measure was passed thanks to campaign efforts from the Alliance Fighting Discrimination Against Fathers (TATA). [ 43 ]  Previously, Mother's Day was celebrated on 8 March, as part of  International Women's Day  (a tradition dating back to when Romania was part of the  Eastern bloc ). Today, Mother's Day and International Women's Day are two separate holidays, with International Women's Day being held on its original date of 8 March. [ citation needed ]


Traditionally  Russia  had celebrated International Women's Day and Mother's Day on 8 March, an inheritance from the  Soviet Union , and a public holiday. [ 163 ]


Women's Day was first celebrated on the last Sunday in February in 1913 in Russia. [ 164 ]


In 1917, demonstrations marking International Women's Day in  Saint Petersburg  on the last Sunday in February (which fell on 8 March on the  Gregorian calendar ) initiated the  February Revolution . Following the  October Revolution  later that year, the  Bolshevik   Alexandra Kollontai  persuaded  Vladimir Lenin  to make it an official holiday in the Soviet Union, and it was established, but was a working day until 1965. [ citation needed ]


On 8 May 1965, by the decree of the  Presidium of the Supreme Soviet , International Women's Day was declared a non-working day in the Soviet Union "in commemoration of the outstanding merits of Soviet women in communistic construction, in the defense of their  Fatherland  during the  Great Patriotic War , in their heroism and selflessness at the front and in the rear, and also marking the great contribution of women to strengthening friendship between peoples, and the struggle for peace. But still, women's day must be celebrated as are other holidays." [ 165 ]


In  Samoa , Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May, and as a recognised national holiday on the Monday following.


In  Singapore , Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. It is not recognized as a holiday by the government.


Czechoslovakia  celebrated only Women's Day until the  Velvet Revolution  in 1989. After the country split in 1993,  Slovakia  started celebrating both Women's Day and Mother's Day. The politicization of Women's Day has affected the official status of Mother's Day. Center-right parties want Mother's Day to replace Women's Day, and social-democrats want to make Women's Day an official holiday. Currently, both days are festive, but they are not "state holidays". In the Slovak Republic, Mother's Day is celebrated every second Sunday in May. [ 47 ]


In  South Africa , Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. It is not recognized as a holiday by the government. The tradition is to give cards and gifts and to serve mothers breakfast in bed or to go out to lunch together as a family.


In  South Sudan , Mother's Day is celebrated on the first Monday in July. The president  Salva Kiir Mayardit  proclaimed Mother's Day as the first Monday in July after handing over from Sudan. Children in South Sudan are presenting mothers with gifts and flowers. The first Mother's Day was held in that country on 2 July 2012. [ citation needed ]


In Spain, Mother's Day or Día de la Madre is celebrated on the first Sunday of May. The weeks leading up to this Sunday, school children spend a few hours a day preparing a gift for their mothers, aided by their school teachers. In general, mothers receive gifts from their family members & this day is meant to be celebrated with the whole family. It is also said to be celebrated in May, as May is the month dedicated to the Virgin Mary (mother of Jesus) according to Catholicism. The idea of a month dedicated specifically to Mary can be traced back to baroque times. Although it wasn't always held during May, Mary Month included thirty daily spiritual exercises honoring Mary. [ 166 ]


In 1925 the Valencian poet  Julio Menéndez García  published a  Hymn to Mother  in a pamphlet in which he proposed the celebration of Mother's Day in all Spanish-speaking countries. [ 167 ]  The official declaration was never produced, but at that time the initiative was adopted at a local level on different dates; thus, for example, in Madrid, Mother's Day was celebrated on 4 October 1926. [ 168 ]


In 1939 the  Youth Front  of  FET y de las JONS  party, promoted the celebration of Mother's Day coinciding with the feast of the Immaculate Conception, on 8 December.


In the early 1960s, on the initiative of a chain of department stores ( Galerías Preciados ), which copied the custom established in Cuba, Mother's Day was also celebrated on the first Sunday of May ( El Corte Inglés , the great competitor of Galerías Preciados, celebrated the holiday in December). The two dates, May and December, coexisted until 1965 when the ecclesiastical authorities chose to celebrate the festival in May, within the month consecrated to the Virgin, to recover the authentic character of the Day of the Immaculate Conception. [ 169 ]


In Sri Lanka, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May.


In  Sweden , Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1919, by an initiative of the author Cecilia Bååth-Holmberg. It took several decades for the day to be widely recognized. Swedes born in the early nineteen hundreds typically did not celebrate the day because of the common belief that the holiday was invented strictly for commercial purposes. This was in contrast to Father's Day, which has been widely celebrated in Sweden since the late 1970s. Mother's Day in Sweden is celebrated on the last Sunday in May. A later date was chosen to allow everyone to go outside and pick flowers. [ 170 ] [ 171 ]


In  Switzerland , the "règle de Pentecôte" law allows Mother's Day to be celebrated a week late if the holiday falls on the same day as Pentecost. In 2008, merchants declined to move the date. [ 172 ]


In  Taiwan , Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of the month of May, coinciding with  Buddha's birthday  and the traditional ceremony of "washing the Buddha". In 1999 the Taiwanese government established the second Sunday of May as Buddha's birthday, so they would be celebrated in the same day. [ 173 ] [ 174 ]


Since 2006, [ 175 ]  the  Tzu Chi , the largest charity organization in Taiwan, celebrates the Tzu Chi Day, Mother's Day and Buddha's birthday all together, as part of a unified celebration and religious observance. [ 176 ] [ 177 ] [ 178 ]


Mother's day in  Thailand  is celebrated on the birthday of the Queen Mother of Thailand,  Sirikit  (12 August). [ 179 ] [ 180 ]  The holiday was first celebrated around the 1980s as part of the campaign by the Prime Minister of Thailand  Prem Tinsulanonda  to promote Thailand's Royal family. [ 181 ]  Father's Day is celebrated on the late King  Bhumibol Adulyadej 's birthday. [ 181 ]


Ukraine  celebrates Mother's Day ( Ukrainian :  День Матері ) on the second Sunday of May. In Ukraine, Mother's Day officially became a holiday in 1999 [ 182 ]  and has been celebrated since 2000. Ukrainian society also celebrates  International Women's Day , a holiday adopted under the  Soviet Union  that remained a tradition in Ukraine after  its collapse . [ citation needed ]


The  United Kingdom  celebrates Mother's Day on the  Fourth Sunday in Lent  (30 March 2025). [ 183 ]  In the United Kingdom, the holiday has its roots in the religious  Mothering Sunday  celebration and was originally unrelated to the international Mother's Day holiday. [ 31 ]  Most historians believe that Mothering Sunday evolved from a medieval practice of visiting one's mother church annually on  Laetare Sunday . [ 184 ]


The United States celebrates Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May. In 1872  Julia Ward Howe  called for women to join in support of disarmament and asked for 2 June 1872, to be established as a "Mother's Day for Peace". Her 1870 "Appeal to womanhood throughout the world" is sometimes referred to as  Mother's Day Proclamation . But Howe's day was not for honouring mothers but for organizing pacifist mothers against war. In the 1880s and 1890s there were several further attempts to establish an American "Mother's Day", but these did not succeed beyond the local level. [ 185 ]


In the United States, Mother's Day remains one of the biggest days for sales of flowers, greeting cards, and the like; Mother's Day is also the biggest holiday for long-distance telephone calls. [ 186 ]  Moreover,  churchgoing  is also popular on Mother's Day, yielding the highest  church attendance  after Christmas Eve and Easter. Many worshippers celebrate the day with  carnations , coloured if the mother is living and white if she is dead. [ 13 ] [ 187 ]


Mother's Day continues to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions. [ 188 ]


It is possible that the holiday would have withered over time without the support and continuous promotion of the florist industries and other commercial industries. Other Protestant holidays from the same time, such as  Children's Day  and  Temperance Sunday , do not have the same level of popularity. [ 189 ]


Enstam, Elizabeth York. "The Dallas equal suffrage association, political style, and popular culture: grassroots strategies of the Woman Suffrage Movement, 1913–1919."  Journal of Southern History  68.4 (2002):817+. Student Resources in Context. Web. 14 November 2014.


(federal) = federal holidays, (abbreviation) = state/territorial holidays, (religious) = religious holidays, (cultural) = holiday related to a specific  racial/ethnic group  or  sexual minority , (week) = week-long holidays, (month) = month-long holidays, (36) =  Title 36 Observances and Ceremonies


The  National Rebirth Alliance  ( Romanian :  Alianța Renașterea Națională ,  ARN ) was a  right-wing ,  Christian   conservative [ 5 ]   political party in Romania . The party's main values were  faith ,  family , and  education . [ 6 ]


The party was formed in 2019 by lawyer and  Coaliția pentru Familie  figure, Peter Costea, and his supporters after he failed to enter the  European Parliament  as an  independent  in the  elections held earlier that year . The relatively new and small party grew in popularity by taking a very  anti-abortion  attitude, hoping to unite all anti-abortion movements in the country under its leadership. [ 7 ]
It has merged into the  Romanian National Conservative Party ,along with  The Right Alternative . [ 8 ]


The party is defined by its predominant right-wing  Christian values , most notable being its  anti-abortion  and  traditional family  policies. According to Peter Costea, the right to life is the most fundamental human right and seeks to review the Romanian abortion law, saying: "If we discuss the laws for the euthanasia of animals, why not discuss the granting of personality to the unborn?". The current law is deemed by him as being illegitimate as it was issued in 1989 by the  National Salvation Front Council  in the midst of the  anti-communist revolution . The party also opposes  same-sex marriage , as well as  gender ideology , or any form of  sex education  for children in schools. [ 9 ]  Peter Costea aims to open for the first time a real debate on what he calls "non-negotiable principles" in Romania. [ 10 ] [ unreliable source? ]


The results were the following: [ 11 ]


Note :
 1   AUR Alliance  members:  AUR  (5 MEPs),  PNRC  (1 MEP) and the other party members did not achieved any mandates (ARN, PRR and BUN).


Nazi Germany , [ i ]  officially known as the  German Reich [ j ]  and later the  Greater German Reich , [ k ]  refers to the  German state  between 1933 and 1945, when  Adolf Hitler  and the  Nazi Party  controlled the country, transforming it into a  totalitarian dictatorship . The  Third Reich , [ l ]  meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", referred to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier  Holy Roman Empire  (800/962–1806) and  German Empire  (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which the Nazis referred to as the  Thousand-Year Reich , [ m ]  ended in May 1945, after only 12 years, when the  Allies  defeated Germany and entered the capital,  Berlin ,  ending World War II in Europe .


After Hitler was appointed  Chancellor of Germany  by the President of the  Weimar Republic   Paul von Hindenburg  on 30 January 1933, the Nazi Party began to eliminate political opposition and consolidate power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator by merging the powers of the chancellery and presidency. A  1934 German referendum  confirmed Hitler as sole  Führer  (leader). Power was centralised in Hitler's person, and his word became the highest law. The government was not a coordinated, cooperating body, but rather a collection of factions struggling to amass power. In the midst of the  Great Depression , the Nazis restored economic stability and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending. Financed by  deficit spending , the regime undertook extensive public works projects, including the  Autobahnen  (motorways) and a massive  secret rearmament program , forming the  Wehrmacht  (armed forces). The return to economic stability boosted the regime's popularity. Germany made increasingly aggressive territorial demands, threatening war if they were not met. Germany seized  Austria  in the  Anschluss  of 1938, and demanded and received the  Sudetenland  region of Czechoslovakia. Germany signed  a non-aggression pact  with the  Soviet Union  and  invaded Poland  on 1 September 1939, launching  World War II in Europe . In alliance with  Italy  and other  Axis powers , Germany conquered most of Europe by 1940 and threatened Great Britain.


Racism ,  Nazi eugenics ,  anti-Slavism , and especially  antisemitism  were central ideological features of the regime. The  Germanic peoples  were considered by the Nazis to be the " master race ", the purest branch of the Aryan race.  Jews ,  Romani people ,  Slavs ,  homosexuals ,  liberals ,  socialists ,  communists , other political opponents,  Jehovah's Witnesses ,  Freemasons , those who  refused to work , and other "undesirables" were imprisoned,  deported , or murdered. Christian churches and citizens that  opposed Hitler's rule  were oppressed and leaders imprisoned. Education focused on  racial biology , population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women  were curtailed .  Nazi Propaganda Ministry  disseminated films,  antisemitic canards , and organized mass rallies; fostering a  pervasive cult of personality  around Adolf Hitler to influence public opinion. The government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others.  Genocide ,  mass murder , and  large-scale forced labour  became hallmarks of the regime; the implementation of the regime's racial policies culminated in  the Holocaust .


After the initial success of  German invasion  of the Soviet Union in 1941, Nazi Germany attempted to implement the  Generalplan Ost  and  Hunger Plan , as part of its  war of extermination  in Eastern Europe. The Soviet resurgence and entry of the US into the war meant Germany lost the initiative in 1943 and by late 1944 had been pushed back to the 1939 border. Large-scale aerial bombing of Germany escalated and the Axis powers were driven back in Eastern and Southern Europe. Germany was conquered by the Soviet Union from the east and the  other Allies  from the west, and  capitulated  on 8 May 1945. Hitler's refusal to admit defeat led to massive destruction of German infrastructure and additional war-related deaths in the closing months of the war. The Allies initiated a policy of  denazification  and put many of the surviving Nazi leadership on trial for war crimes at the  Nuremberg trials .


Common English terms for the German state in the Nazi era are "Nazi Germany" and the "Third Reich", which Hitler and the Nazis also referred to as the "Thousand-Year Reich" ( Tausendjähriges Reich ). [ 6 ]  The latter, a translation of the Nazi propaganda term  Drittes Reich , was first used in  Das Dritte Reich , a 1923 book by  Arthur Moeller van den Bruck . [ 7 ]  The book counted the  Holy Roman Empire  (962–1806) as the first  Reich  and the  German Empire  (1871–1918) as the second. [ 8 ]


Severe setbacks to the German economy began after  World War I  ended, partly because of  reparations payments  required under the 1919  Treaty of Versailles . The government printed money to make the payments and to repay the country's war debt, but the resulting hyperinflation led to inflated prices, economic chaos, and food riots. [ 9 ]  When the government defaulted on their reparations payments in January 1923, French troops  occupied German industrial areas  along the  Ruhr  and widespread civil unrest followed. [ 10 ]


The  National Socialist German Workers' Party  ( Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei ), commonly known as the Nazi Party, was founded in 1920. It was the renamed successor of the  German Workers' Party  (DAP) formed one year earlier, and one of several  far-right  political parties then active. [ 11 ]  The  Nazi Party platform  included destruction of the Weimar Republic, rejection of the Treaty of Versailles, radical  antisemitism , and anti- Bolshevism . [ 12 ]  They promised a strong central government, increased  Lebensraum  ("living space") for Germanic peoples, formation of a national community based on race, and racial cleansing via the active suppression of  Jews , who would be stripped of their citizenship and civil rights. [ 13 ]  The Nazis proposed national and cultural renewal based upon the  Völkisch  movement . [ 14 ]  The party, especially its paramilitary organisation  Sturmabteilung  (SA; Storm Detachment), or Brownshirts, used physical violence to advance their political position, disrupting the meetings of rival organisations and attacking their members as well as Jewish people on the streets. [ 15 ]  Such far-right armed groups were common in  Bavaria , and were tolerated by the sympathetic far-right state government of  Gustav Ritter von Kahr . [ 16 ]


When the stock market in the United States  crashed in 1929 , the effect in Germany was dire. [ 17 ]  Millions were thrown out of work and several major banks collapsed. Hitler and the Nazis prepared to take advantage of the emergency to gain support for their party. They promised to strengthen the economy and provide jobs. [ 18 ]  Many voters decided the Nazi Party was capable of restoring order, quelling civil unrest, and improving Germany's international reputation. After the  federal election of 1932 , the party was the largest in the  Reichstag , holding 230 seats with 37.4 per cent of the popular vote. [ 19 ]


Although the Nazis won the greatest share of the popular vote in the two Reichstag general elections of 1932, they did not have a majority. Hitler refused to participate in a coalition government unless he was its leader. [ 20 ]  Under pressure from politicians, industrialists, and the business community, President  Paul von Hindenburg  appointed Hitler as  Chancellor of Germany  on 30 January 1933. This event is known as the  Machtergreifung  ("seizure of power"). [ 21 ]


On the night of 27 February 1933, the  Reichstag building was set afire .  Marinus van der Lubbe , a Dutch communist, was found guilty of starting the blaze. Hitler proclaimed that the arson marked the start of a communist uprising. The  Reichstag Fire Decree , imposed on 28 February 1933, rescinded most civil liberties, including rights of assembly and freedom of the press. The decree also allowed the police to detain people indefinitely without charges. The legislation was accompanied by a propaganda campaign that led to public support for the measure. Violent suppression of communists by the SA was undertaken nationwide and 4,000 members of the  Communist Party of Germany  were arrested. [ 22 ]


On 23 March 1933, the  Enabling Act , an amendment to the  Weimar Constitution , passed in the Reichstag by a vote of 444 to 94. [ 23 ]  This amendment allowed Hitler and his cabinet to pass laws—even laws that violated the constitution—without the consent of the president or the Reichstag. [ 24 ]  As the bill required a two-thirds majority to pass, the Nazis used intimidation tactics as well as the provisions of the Reichstag Fire Decree to keep several  Social Democratic  deputies from attending, and the Communists had already been banned. [ 25 ] [ 26 ]  The Enabling Act would subsequently serve as the legal foundation for the dictatorship the Nazis established. [ 27 ]


On 10 May, the government seized the assets of the Social Democrats, and they were banned on 22 June. [ 28 ]  On 21 June, the SA raided the offices of the German National People's Party – their former coalition partners – which then disbanded on 29 June. The remaining major political parties followed suit. On 14 July 1933 Germany became a  one-party state  with the passage of the  Law Against the Formation of Parties , decreeing the Nazi Party to be the sole legal party in Germany. The founding of new parties was also made illegal, and all remaining political parties which had not already been dissolved were banned. [ 29 ]  Further elections  in November 1933 ,  1936 , and  1938  were Nazi-controlled, with only members of the Party and a small number of independents elected. [ 30 ]


All civilian organisations had their leadership replaced with Nazi sympathisers or party members, and either merged with the Nazi Party or faced dissolution. [ 31 ]  The Nazi government declared a "Day of National Labor" for  May Day  1933, and invited many trade union delegates to Berlin for celebrations. The day after, SA stormtroopers demolished union offices around the country; all trade unions were forced to dissolve and their leaders were arrested. [ 32 ]  The  Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service , passed in April, removed from their jobs all teachers, professors, judges, magistrates, and government officials who were Jewish or whose commitment to the party was suspect. [ 33 ]  This meant the only non-political institutions not under control of the Nazis were the churches. [ 34 ]


The Nazi regime abolished the symbols of the Weimar Republic—including the  black, red, and gold tricolour flag —and adopted reworked symbolism. The previous imperial black, white, and red tricolour was restored as one of Germany's two official flags; the second was the  swastika flag  of the Nazi Party, which became the sole national flag in September 1935. The Party anthem " Horst-Wessel-Lied " ("Horst Wessel Song") became a second national anthem. [ 35 ]


Germany was still in a dire economic situation, as six million people were unemployed and the  balance of trade  deficit was daunting. [ 36 ]  Using  deficit spending , public works projects were undertaken beginning in 1934, creating 1.7 million new jobs by the end of that year alone. [ 36 ]  Average wages began to rise. [ 37 ]


The SA leadership continued to apply pressure for greater political and military power. In response, Hitler used the  Schutzstaffel  (SS) and  Gestapo  to purge the entire SA leadership. [ 38 ]  Hitler targeted SA  Stabschef  (Chief of Staff)  Ernst Röhm  and other SA leaders who—along with a number of Hitler's political adversaries (such as  Gregor Strasser  and former chancellor  Kurt von Schleicher )—were arrested and shot. [ 39 ]  Up to 200 people were killed from 30 June to 2 July 1934 in an event that became known as the  Night of the Long Knives . [ 40 ]


On 2 August 1934, Hindenburg died. The previous day, the cabinet had enacted the " Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich ", which stated that upon Hindenburg's death the office of Reich President would be abolished and its powers merged with those of Reich Chancellor. [ 41 ]  Hitler thus became head of state as well as head of government and was formally named as  Führer und Reichskanzler  ("Leader and Chancellor"), although eventually  Reichskanzler  was dropped. [ 42 ]  Germany was now a totalitarian state with Hitler at its head. [ 43 ]  As head of state, Hitler became Supreme Commander of the armed forces. The new law provided an altered loyalty oath for servicemen so that they  affirmed loyalty to Hitler personally  rather than the office of supreme commander or the state. [ 44 ]  On 19 August, the merger of the presidency with the chancellorship was approved by 90 per cent of the electorate in a  plebiscite . [ 45 ]


Most Germans were relieved that the conflicts and street fighting of the Weimar era had ended. They were deluged with propaganda orchestrated by Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda  Joseph Goebbels , who promised peace and plenty for all in a united, Marxist-free country without the constraints of the Versailles Treaty. [ 46 ]  The Nazi Party obtained and legitimised power through its initial revolutionary activities, then through manipulation of legal mechanisms, the use of police powers, and by taking control of the state and federal institutions. [ 47 ] [ 48 ]  The first major  Nazi concentration camp , initially for political prisoners, was opened at  Dachau  in 1933. [ 49 ]  Hundreds of camps of varying size and function were created by the end of the war. [ 50 ]


Beginning in April 1933, scores of measures defining the status of Jews and their rights were instituted. [ 51 ]  These measures culminated in the establishment of the  Nuremberg Laws  of 1935, which stripped them of their basic rights. [ 52 ]  The Nazis would take from the Jews their wealth, their right to intermarry with non-Jews, and their right to occupy many fields of labour (such as law, medicine, or education). Eventually the Nazis declared the Jews as undesirable to remain among German citizens and society. [ 53 ]


As early as February 1933, Hitler announced that rearmament must begin, albeit clandestinely at first, as to do so was in violation of the Versailles Treaty. On 17 May 1933, Hitler gave a speech before the Reichstag outlining his desire for  world peace  and accepted an offer from American President  Franklin D. Roosevelt  for military disarmament, provided the other nations of Europe did the same. [ 54 ]  When the other European powers failed to accept this offer, Hitler pulled Germany out of the  World Disarmament Conference  and the  League of Nations  in October, claiming its disarmament clauses were unfair if they applied only to Germany. [ 55 ]  In  a referendum held in November , 95 per cent of voters supported Germany's withdrawal. [ 56 ]


In 1934, Hitler told his military leaders that rearmament needed to be complete by 1942, as by then the German people would require more living space and resources, so Germany would have to start a war of conquest to obtain more territory. [ 57 ]  The  Saarland , which had been placed under League of Nations supervision for 15 years at the end of World War I, voted in January 1935 to become part of Germany. [ 58 ]  In March 1935, Hitler announced the creation of an air force, and that the  Reichswehr  would be increased to 550,000 men. [ 59 ]  Britain agreed to Germany building a naval fleet with the signing of the  Anglo-German Naval Agreement  on 18 June 1935. [ 60 ]


When the Italian  invasion of Ethiopia  led to only mild protests by the British and French governments, on 7 March 1936 Hitler used the  Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance  as a pretext to order the army to march 3,000 troops into the demilitarised zone in the  Rhineland  in violation of the Versailles Treaty. [ 61 ]  As the territory was part of Germany, the British and French governments did not feel that attempting to enforce the treaty was worth the risk of war. [ 62 ]  In the one-party election held on 29 March, the Nazis received 98.9 per cent support. [ 62 ]  In 1936, Hitler signed an  Anti-Comintern Pact  with Japan and a non-aggression agreement with Mussolini, who was soon referring to a "Rome-Berlin Axis". [ 63 ]


Hitler sent military supplies and assistance to the Nationalist forces of General  Francisco Franco  in the  Spanish Civil War , which began in July 1936. The German  Condor Legion  included a range of aircraft and their crews, as well as a tank contingent. The aircraft of the Legion  destroyed the city of Guernica  in 1937. [ 64 ]  The Nationalists were victorious in 1939 and became an informal ally of Nazi Germany. [ 65 ]


In February 1938, Hitler emphasised to Austrian Chancellor  Kurt Schuschnigg  the need for Germany to secure its frontiers. Schuschnigg scheduled a plebiscite regarding Austrian independence for 13 March, but Hitler sent an ultimatum to Schuschnigg on 11 March demanding that he hand over all power to the Austrian Nazi Party or face an invasion. German troops entered Austria the next day, to be greeted with enthusiasm by the populace. [ 66 ]


The  Republic of Czechoslovakia  was home to a substantial minority of Germans, who lived mostly in the  Sudetenland . Under pressure from separatist groups within the  Sudeten German Party , the Czechoslovak government offered economic concessions to the region. [ 67 ]  Hitler decided not just to incorporate the Sudetenland into the Reich, but to destroy the country of Czechoslovakia entirely. [ 68 ]  The Nazis undertook a propaganda campaign to try to generate support for an invasion. [ 69 ]  Top German military leaders opposed the plan, as Germany was not yet ready for war. [ 70 ]


The crisis led to war preparations by Britain, Czechoslovakia, and France (Czechoslovakia's ally). Attempting to avoid war, British Prime Minister  Neville Chamberlain  arranged a series of meetings, the result of which was the  Munich Agreement , signed on 29 September 1938. The Czechoslovak government was forced to accept the Sudetenland's annexation into Germany. Chamberlain was greeted with cheers when he landed in London, saying the agreement brought "peace for our time". [ 71 ]


Austrian and Czech foreign exchange reserves were seized by the Nazis, as were stockpiles of raw materials such as metals and completed goods such as weaponry and aircraft, which were shipped to Germany. The  Reichswerke Hermann Göring  industrial conglomerate took control of steel and coal production facilities in both countries. [ 72 ]


In January 1934, Germany signed a non-aggression pact with Poland. [ 73 ]  In March 1939, Hitler demanded the return of the  Free City of Danzig  and the  Polish Corridor , a strip of land that separated  East Prussia  from the rest of Germany. The British announced they would come to the aid of Poland if it was attacked. Hitler, believing the British would not take action, ordered an invasion plan should be readied for September 1939. [ 74 ]  On 23 May, Hitler described to his generals his overall plan of not only seizing the Polish Corridor but greatly expanding German territory eastward at the expense of Poland. He expected this time they would be met by force. [ 75 ]


The Germans reaffirmed their alliance with Italy and signed non-aggression pacts with Denmark, Estonia, and Latvia whilst trade links were formalised with Romania, Norway, and Sweden. [ 76 ]  Foreign Minister  Joachim von Ribbentrop  arranged in negotiations with the Soviet Union a non-aggression pact, the  Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , signed in August 1939. [ 77 ]  The treaty also contained secret protocols dividing Poland and the Baltic states into German and Soviet spheres of influence. [ 78 ]


Germany's wartime foreign policy involved the creation of allied governments controlled directly or indirectly from Berlin. They intended to obtain soldiers from allies such as Italy and Hungary and workers and food supplies from allies such as  Vichy France . [ 79 ]  Hungary was the fourth nation to join the Axis, signing the  Tripartite Pact  on 27 September 1940. Bulgaria signed the pact on 17 November. German efforts to secure oil included negotiating a supply from their new ally,  Romania , who signed the Pact on 23 November, alongside the Slovak Republic. [ 80 ] [ 81 ] [ 82 ]  By late 1942, there were 24 divisions from Romania on the Eastern Front, 10 from Italy, and 10 from Hungary. [ 83 ]  Germany assumed full control in France in 1942, Italy in 1943, and Hungary in 1944. Although Japan was a powerful ally, the relationship was distant, with little co-ordination or co-operation. For example, Germany refused to share their formula for synthetic oil from coal until late in the war. [ 84 ]


Germany invaded Poland  and captured the Free City of Danzig on 1 September 1939, beginning World War II in Europe. [ 85 ]  Honouring their treaty obligations, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. [ 86 ]  Poland fell quickly, as the Soviet Union attacked from the east on 17 September. [ 87 ]   Reinhard Heydrich , chief of the  Sicherheitspolizei  (SiPo; Security Police) and  Sicherheitsdienst  (SD; Security Service), ordered on 21 September that Polish Jews should be rounded up and concentrated into cities with good rail links. Initially the intention was to deport them further east, or possibly to  Madagascar . [ 88 ]  Using  lists prepared in advance , some 65,000 Polish intelligentsia, noblemen, clergy, and teachers were murdered by the end of 1939 in an attempt to destroy Poland's identity as a nation. [ 89 ] [ 90 ]  Soviet forces advanced into Finland in the  Winter War , and German forces saw action at sea. But little other activity occurred until May, so the period became known as the " Phoney War ". [ 91 ]


From the start of the war, a  British blockade  on shipments to Germany affected its economy. Germany was particularly dependent on foreign supplies of oil, coal, and grain. [ 92 ]  Thanks to trade embargoes and the blockade, imports into Germany declined by 80 per cent. [ 93 ]  To safeguard Swedish iron ore shipments to Germany, Hitler ordered the  invasion of Denmark and Norway , which began on 9 April.  Denmark fell after less than a day , while  most of Norway followed  by the end of the month. [ 94 ] [ 95 ]  By early June, Germany  occupied all of Norway . [ 96 ]


Against the advice of many of his senior military officers, in May 1940 Hitler ordered an  attack on France  and the  Low Countries . [ 97 ] [ 98 ]  They quickly conquered  Luxembourg  and the  Netherlands  and outmanoeuvred the Allies in  Belgium ,  forcing the evacuation  of many British and French troops at  Dunkirk . [ 99 ]  France fell as well,  surrendering to Germany on 22 June . [ 100 ]  The victory in France resulted in an upswing in Hitler's popularity and an upsurge in war fever in Germany. [ 101 ]


In violation of the provisions of the  Hague Convention , industrial firms in the Netherlands, France, and Belgium were put to work producing war  materiel  for Germany. [ 102 ]


The Nazis seized from the French thousands of locomotives and rolling stock, stockpiles of weapons, and raw materials such as copper, tin, oil, and nickel. [ 103 ]  Payments for occupation costs were levied upon France, Belgium, and Norway. [ 104 ]  Barriers to trade led to hoarding,  black markets , and uncertainty about the future. [ 105 ]  Food supplies were precarious; production dropped in most of Europe. [ 106 ]  Famine was experienced in many occupied countries. [ 106 ]


Hitler's peace overtures to the new British Prime Minister  Winston Churchill  were rejected in July 1940. Grand Admiral  Erich Raeder  had advised Hitler in June that air superiority was a pre-condition for a successful  invasion of Britain , so Hitler ordered a series of aerial attacks on  Royal Air Force  (RAF) airbases and radar stations, as well as  nightly air raids  on British cities, including  London ,  Plymouth , and  Coventry . The German Luftwaffe failed to defeat the RAF in what became known as the  Battle of Britain , and by the end of October, Hitler realised that air superiority would not be achieved. He permanently postponed the invasion, a plan which the commanders of the German army had never taken entirely seriously. [ 107 ] [ 108 ] [ n ]  Several historians, including  Andrew Gordon , believe the primary reason for the failure of the invasion plan was the superiority of the Royal Navy, not the actions of the RAF. [ 109 ]


In February 1941, the German  Afrika Korps  arrived in  Libya  to aid the Italians in the  North African Campaign . [ 110 ]  On 6 April, Germany launched an  invasion of Yugoslavia  and  Greece . [ 111 ] [ 112 ]  All of Yugoslavia and parts of Greece were subsequently divided between Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Bulgaria. [ 113 ] [ 114 ]


On 22 June 1941, contravening the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, about 3.8 million Axis troops attacked the Soviet Union. [ 115 ]  In addition to Hitler's stated purpose of acquiring  Lebensraum , this large-scale offensive—codenamed  Operation Barbarossa —was intended to destroy the Soviet Union and seize its natural resources for subsequent aggression against the Western powers. [ 116 ]  The reaction among Germans was one of surprise and trepidation as many were concerned about how much longer the war would continue or suspected that Germany could not win a war fought on two fronts. [ 117 ]


The invasion conquered a huge area, including the  Baltic  states,  Belarus , and west  Ukraine . After the successful  Battle of Smolensk  in September 1941, Hitler ordered  Army Group Centre  to halt its advance to Moscow and temporarily divert its Panzer groups to aid in the encirclement of  Leningrad  and  Kyiv . [ 118 ]  This pause provided the  Red Army  with an opportunity to mobilise fresh reserves. The Moscow offensive, which resumed in October 1941,  ended disastrously in December . [ 119 ]  On 7 December 1941, Japan  attacked Pearl Harbor , Hawaii. Four days later, Germany declared war on the United States. [ 120 ]


Food was in short supply in the conquered areas of the Soviet Union and Poland, as the retreating armies had burned the crops in some areas, and much of the remainder was sent back to the Reich. [ 121 ]  In Germany, rations were cut in 1942. In his role as  Plenipotentiary  of the  Four Year Plan ,  Hermann Göring  demanded increased shipments of grain from France and fish from Norway. The 1942 harvest was good, and food supplies remained adequate in Western Europe. [ 122 ]


Germany and Europe as a whole were almost totally dependent on foreign oil imports. [ 123 ]  In an attempt to resolve the shortage, in June 1942 Germany launched  Fall Blau  ("Case Blue"), an offensive against the Caucasian oilfields. [ 124 ]  The Red Army launched a counter-offensive on 19 November and encircled the Axis forces, who were trapped in  Stalingrad  on 23 November. [ 125 ]  Göring assured Hitler that the  6th Army  could be supplied by air, but this turned out to be infeasible. [ 126 ]  Hitler's refusal to allow a retreat led to the deaths of 200,000 German and Romanian soldiers; of the 91,000 men who surrendered in the city on 31 January 1943, only 6,000 survivors returned to Germany after the war. [ 127 ]


Losses continued to mount after Stalingrad, leading to a sharp reduction in the popularity of the Nazi Party and deteriorating morale. [ 128 ]  Soviet forces continued to push westward after the failed German offensive at the  Battle of Kursk  in the summer of 1943. By the end of 1943, the Germans had lost most of their eastern territorial gains. [ 129 ]  In Egypt, Field Marshal  Erwin Rommel 's  Afrika Korps  were defeated by British forces under Field Marshal  Bernard Montgomery  in October 1942. [ 130 ]  The Allies landed in Sicily in July 1943 and were on the Italian peninsula by September. [ 131 ]  Meanwhile, American and British bomber fleets based in Britain began  operations against Germany . Many sorties were intentionally given civilian targets in an effort to destroy German morale. [ 132 ]  The bombing of aircraft factories as well as  Peenemünde Army Research Center , where  V-1  and  V-2  rockets were being developed and produced, were also deemed particularly important. [ 133 ] [ 134 ]  German aircraft production could not keep pace with losses, and without air cover the Allied bombing campaign became even more devastating. By targeting oil refineries and factories, they crippled the German war effort by late 1944. [ 135 ]