For over 100 years, Sweden’s mothers have received a little extra attention from their children on the last Sunday in May.
In total, there are roughly one million mothers in Sweden who have children under the age of 18. Together, they have just over two million children, according to figures from Statistics Sweden, Statistics Norway.
The constellation mother, father, child has also been joined by new family constellations: Just over 4,000 children can congratulate not just one – but two mothers. There are approximately 5,400 mothers who live in same-sex relationships and have almost 4,400 children together.
Some mothers get to celebrate for the first time this year. This is about 44,000 women who have had their first child since the last time Mother’s Day was celebrated, according to the central statistical office, Statistics Sweden.
In Sweden, there are also close to 300,000 single mothers to celebrate a little extra this Sunday.
The American holiday, “Mother’s Day”, was coined by Anna Jarvis in 1905, in connection with the passing of her mother. Mother’s Day became an official holiday in the United States in 1914.
In Sweden, the holiday was introduced in 1919 on the initiative of the writer Cecilia Bååth-Holmberg. Here Mother’s Day has been celebrated on the last Sunday of May every year, while other parts of the world celebrate on the second Sunday of May.
Source: Swedish trade, Statistics Sweden.