Why Mother's Day is celebrated in May in Japan

Often Anna Jarvais is credited with starting "Mother's Day" in 1907. But the truth is that many Christian countries, have celebrated 'Mother's Day', on different dates and with different customs, since the Middle Ages. What is accurate though is that the May date Mother's Day that is used in many countries in the world today does align with the Anna Jarvais event in 1907.

The modern holiday traces back to May 12th, 1907, when Anna Jarvais honored her late mother with white carnations at a church memorial in America. In response, the following year, the first large Mother Day's celebration was held. This momentum eventually led to the U.S choosing the second Sunday of May as the official date.

In Japan, inspired by Anna Jarvais' tribute, Aoyama Gakuin held a Mother's Day service in 1913. So, post-World War II when Japan decided to adopt the "Mother's Day" idea, it made sense to stick with the American date inspired by Ms Jarvais. And from 1949 onward the date was set as the second Sunday of May. 

In my home country, Ireland, Mother's Day respects its ancient roots and is on in March. When is Mother's Day in your homeland?