Happy Mother's Day

‍

In many countries of the American continent, Mother's Day is celebrated during the month of May. However, Panama is an exception and celebrates it on December 8. In this article, we share this curious story.

It all started at a meeting of the Rotary Club of Panama, in early 1924, when they were looking for an official date to celebrate mothers. Initially, it was established as an official resolution on May 11, 1924, which was approved by President Belisario Porras.

A curious fact is that on that date the telegraph offices charged five cents, from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., for each message that the person wished to send to his mother in the interior of the country.

Six years later, in 1930, a guild of Catholic women wrote to President Florencio Harmodio Arosemena's wife, Hercilia de Arosemena, to ask that Mother's Day be changed from May 11 to December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

The petition was sent to the National Assembly, although it had some disagreement since it could turn Mother's Day into a religious holiday. Deputy Aníbal Ríos suggested moving other's Day to December 8, but without highlighting the religious fact of the Immaculate Conception.

In the end, the change of day was accepted through Law 69 of December 18, 1930, declaring December 8 as a day to honor all Panamanian mothers.