Did you remember to call your moms today? Or, if you are in Sweden, did you remember to show up at your mom’s house with a bunch of flowers? And a gift? I’m terrible when it comes to remembering such days (I almost totally forgot about Father’s Day last year), but this time I at least managed to send a card.

During the past two weeks several people have asked me why Mother’s Day (Mors dag) in Sweden is celebrated on a different day than in the US. And I can tell you right now that you will be disappointed with the answer. It’s very simple really – the availability of fresh flowers.

So, in other words – blame it on Sweden’s geographic location. Spring comes here later than in other places and hence people’s gardens also bloom later than in other places. Plus, those additional two weeks (which is the difference between Mother’s Day in the US and in Sweden) means a lot in terms of weather. Because it’s no fun to sit down to a lovely outdoor lunch with your mom when it’s blowing like crazy. And during such times, even the old adage of “det finns inget dåligt väder bara dåliga kläder” is not very comforting.

So, an easy solution was to move Mors dag to the last Sunday in May, when the weather is better, the flowers are blooming, and the general mood of summer is already in the air.

When was the first time that Mother’s Day was celebrated in Sweden? A loooong time ago, in 1919. There was once a lady named Cecilia Bååth-Holmberg (1857 – 1920) who was a writer (best known for her biography of Karl XV) who thought it would be a very good idea to bring Mother’s Day to Sweden. And as it often happens with women, if we put our mind to something, we get things done, Cecilia spearheaded the initiative and the rest is history. Or a commercial success.

GRATTIS mamma på Mors dag…. vi älskar dig massor… önskar dina döttrar Anna och Maria.