Various days are specifically celebrated to honor a group or an individual for their importance and existence in society. Two main types of days are celebrated to honor women that are mothers day and Women’s Day.
Both are considered to be derived from a similar circumstance but both have different origins.
Key Takeaways
- Mother’s Day celebrates mothers and their contributions to families, while Women’s Day honors women’s achievements in various fields.
- Most countries observe Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May, whereas Women’s Day occurs on March 8 globally.
- Mother’s Day focuses on individual relationships, while Women’s Day promotes collective gender equality and female empowerment.
Mother’s Day vs Women’s Day
Mother’s Day is a holiday that celebrates mothers and motherhood. Women’s Day is an international holiday that celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. Mother’s Day is celebrated in May, while Women’s Day is celebrated every March 8th.
Mothers Day aims to recognize the sacrifices that the mothers make for their families and children and to celebrate motherhood. The mothers are presented with gifts and special treatment on this day.
On the other hand, Women’s Day aims to recognize the various achievements of women irrespective of their ethnicity and race. The will power and the strength of every woman is celebrated on this day.
The right to vote, equal opportunity, right to higher education training, reproductive rights, and various other discriminations are considered.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Mother’s Day | Women’s Day |
|---|---|---|
| Date | The dates differ in various countries but the second Sunday of May is most commonly observed as mothers day | 8th of March is observed as Women’s Day |
| Year of establishment | In the year 1919 | In the year 1909 |
| Purpose | To honor motherhood, celebrate the role of mother in the society and maternal bonds | To fight for the various rights of women and inspire women to achieve their goals |
| Typical gifts | Gifts include flowers, Holiday from the daily chores of mothers, breakfast in bed, jewelry shopping, and various other | Gifts including gifts on shopping, a spa day, movie day, a day out to celebrate and honor women |
| Type of holiday | It is a secular holiday | It is not considered as a federal or public holiday |
What is Mother’s Day?
Mother’s day is a day that is celebrated to honor the mother of a family or an individual. It honors maternal bonds and motherhood.
The celebration influences the mothers of the society. Mother’s day is observed in over 40 countries worldwide. It is celebrated annually on different days. Some countries consider mothers day as synonymous with older traditions.
Anna Jarvis started the initiative to celebrate mothers day in the United States during the early 20th century. The first organization of Mother’s Day was done in Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church in Grafton which is in West Virginia.
The day was honored as a service of worship and serves as an international Mother’s day shrine even today.
The celebration of Mother’s Day in the American version is criticized as it has become very commercialized.
Anna Jarvis had started the celebration as liturgical observance but regretted the commercialism which flourished later. After Jarvis’s mother, Ann Reeves died, The campaign recognized the day as a holiday in the United States.
The phrase Second Sunday in May was popularised by Anna Jarvis as Mother’s day.
She also specifically mentioned that “mother’s” should be a singular term to honor every mother and not a plural possessive which could commemorate all the mothers.
Some Catholic countries have adopted the day as Virgin Mary’s day. The first proclamation to designate mother’s day was signed by Woodrow Wilson in 1914.
What is Women’s Day?
Women’s Day is also termed International Women’s Day (IWD). The day is celebrated on 8th March annually to commemorate the socio-economic, political, and every cultural achievement of women.
Women’s Day plays a focal point in the movement of women’s rights.
The day brings attention to various issues like reproductive rights, abuse against women, gender equality, and numerous issues of violence. The day is observed worldwide and aims to create awareness.
The origin of Women’s Day has been from labor movements that started in Europe and North America during the early 20th century.
The first organization of women’s stay was done by the Socialist Party of America in New York City on 28th February in the year 1909.
Women’s Day is considered a national holiday and even celebrated by the communist countries and the socialist movement on the same day.
In some countries, the day reflects the political origins and is also marked by protests and calls to bring radical changes. However most parts of the world, especially in the West, the day is associated with sociocultural and celebration of womanhood.
Women’s Day was considered a communist holiday until 1967 when second-wave feminists took it up.
In the 1970s and 1980s leftists and labor organizations joined various women groups for equal economic opportunity, equal legal rights, equal pay, subsidized childcare, reproductive rights and to prevent violence against women.
Main Differences Between Mother’s Day and Women’s Day
- Mother’s day focuses on mothers of the society or individual while Women’s Day focuses on every woman in the society.
- Mother’s day was first celebrated in the year 1908 while Women’s day was first celebrated in the early 1900s.
- Mother’s day is celebrated in over 70 countries while Women’s Day is celebrated worldwide annually.
- Notable personnel in the popularisation of Mother’s Day is Anna Jarvis while for Women’s Day, Clara Zetkin played an important role.
- Mothers day is celebrated on the Second Sunday of May and various countries observe it on different days while Women’s Day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year.
- https://muse.jhu.edu/article/411560/summary
- http://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=womenst
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
