Edit: dates for 2024 – Muttertag 11/05, Vatertag 09/05.
Muttertag
Since moving to the UK there have been a few occasions where I bought a Mother’s Day card for my mum, but then didn’t send it because I couldn’t find it. Why? In the UK Mother’s Day, or Mothering Sunday, as it’s officially known, is on the 4th Sunday in Lent, whereas Germany celebrates Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May, just like the US. So I usually have to buy a card in March but have to remember to send it in May. I still don’t know what happened to the one I bought in 1995 …….
That means , in 2016 Muttertag is on the 8th May. If you’d like to practise your German reading skills and find out more about Muttertag, click here.
If you neither in the UK nor in the US, or if you’re just interested, check out Wikipedia, where you find a list with all the different dates for Mother’s Day around the world. I didn’t know there were so many different dates!
Muttertag in Germany is celebrated just like Mother’s Day. German children buy or make little presents, write or recite poems, make breakfast or any other meals or get flowers for their mums and (hopefully) mums in Germany get a day to be pampered and relax.
EDIT 2023: In our ‘Ask Angelika’ show we covered some Mother’s Day sentences (in German and English):
Vatertag
Just like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day is also on different days. In the UK it’s the third Sunday in June whereas in Germany it’s on Ascension Day (Himmelfahrt), which this year is on the 5th May. Again, there are lots of different days around the world. Check Wikipedia.
However, unlike Muttertag, German fathers do not get pampered on Vatertag. They get drunk! Well, some of them do. As Ascension Day is a official holiday, a lot of fathers go on a day trip with other fathers, on foot or by bike with a handcart full of beer … I leave the rest to your imagination!
What do you normally do for/ on Muttertag or Vatertag?
Now, where did I leave that card for my mum ….?
