Mother's Day or in French, La Fête des Mères

Mother’s Day is a day for many people to show their appreciation towards mothers and mother figures worldwide. 

It is an annual event but is held at different dates in the calendar, depending on the country.

We didn't know that the first year we were in the US. Fortunately, "La Fête des Mères" in France comes after Mother's Day in US. So for Mother's Day my husband and I called our mothers to wish them a Happy "Fête des Mères". It is when they told us: "It is not today!" that we understood that something was going on and after some research online we found that Mother's Day is not celebrated the same day worldwide. How strange is that?

For example, in 2013 Mother's Day is celebrated May 4 and "La Fête des Mères" is celebrated May 26. 

 

Many people give gifts, cards, flowers, candy, a meal in a restaurant or other treats to their mother and mother figures.

In the days and weeks before Mother's Day, many schools help their pupils to prepare a handmade card or small gift for their mothers. Finally, they are the most important and beautiful gifts a mother ever received!!

Do you know that Mother's Day is an American invention?

In the United States, Mother's Day did not become an official holiday until 1915. Its establishment was due largely to the perseverance and love of one daughter, Anna Jarvis.

Anna's mother had provided strength and support as the family made their home in West Virginia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where her father served as a minister. 

When Mrs. Jarvis died on May 5, 1905, Anna was determined to honor her. She asked the minister at her church in West Virginia to give a sermon in her mother's memory. On the same Sunday in Philadelphia, their minister honored Mrs. Jarvis and all mothers with a special Mother's Day service. 

Anna Jarvis began writing to congressmen, asking them to set aside a day to honor mothers. In 1910, the governor of West Virginia proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day and a year later every state celebrated it.

Greetings

What is the first thing you do when you meet someone? Greet each other.
One thing that a traveler to another country notices is that the rules for greeting are very complicated, and can be quite different than the way it is at home.
Greetings are used worldwide, but types of greeting, and the usages of them, can be very different depending on the culture of the ones greeting each other. 

How do people greet one another around the world? A kiss, a hug, a handshake, a bow: one of these, or something different, could be the proper way to greet someone depending on their country and culture. 

One common French greeting is a light handshake. Another common greeting is a kiss on the left cheek followed by a kiss on the right cheek. Depending on the situation or the people greeting, the kiss may be just a touching of cheeks or a real smack.

 

The very difficult part of greeting someone in France is the kiss on the cheek. Why? Because the number of kisses differ from a person to another depending of which area they came from. But knowing how many kisses is a dilemma even for the French. Two? Three? Four?

So if you plan to visit France (I really hope you will!) and to spare you any humiliation, here's a map to help you know how many kisses on the cheek you need to do.

“If you are invited to a dinner party with people you don’t know, you’ll shake their hands when you arrive. At the end of the evening, you might kiss them but it’s probably better to hold out your hand and see what happens,” says Constance Rietzler

In US, sometimes just a smile accompanies the greeting, a firm handshake is a common greeting between males, and happens (less commonly) between a male and a female. Women tend to shake hands with one another only if it is their first time meeting, or if it is a business situation. Female friends often greet with a hug.

If you learn the proper way to greet someone in another culture, including understanding body language, you may be pleasantly surprised at how well you will be received when traveling to another country. Greetings are often people's first impressions of one another, so learning how to greet someone appropriately is important in making a good first impression.