Thai Mother's Day
Next: August 12, 2027
A jasmine garland for Mum.
The story
Where it comes from
Thailand's National Mother's Day, Wan Mae Haeng Chat, falls on 12 August, the birthday of the late Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, who was born in 1932 and is honoured as the 'Mother of the Land'. The date took time to settle. The Ministry of Public Health held the first Mother's Day on 10 March 1943, and in 1950 the Cabinet named 15 April instead. In 1976 the National Council on Social Welfare of Thailand proposed the Queen's birthday, the Cabinet agreed, and 12 August has been Mother's Day, and a public holiday, ever since.
How it's celebrated
Children give their mothers a garland of jasmine, kneel and bow at their feet to ask for a blessing, and say thank you. Many families begin the day by making merit at a temple or offering food to monks, then share a meal or a small gift. Homes, schools and government offices put up national flags and portraits of the Queen Mother, and grandmothers and other mother figures are thanked too.
Did you know
- Jasmine, dok mali, has been the flower of the day since 1976: its white petals stand for a mother's pure love, and its lasting scent for love that endures.
- Light blue is everywhere around the day, because it is the colour of Friday, the day of the week on which Queen Sirikit was born.
- Between the earlier dates, the Catholic Teachers Association of Thailand held a Mother's Day on 4 October 1972, but it lasted only that one year.
The greeting
สุขสันต์วันแม่ · Suk San Wan Mae
Coming up next
- International Left-Handers Day · August 13, 2027
- Maulidur Rasul · August 14, 2027
- Hans Christian Ørsted's Birthday · August 14, 2027
- Independence Day (India) · August 15, 2027
- Opening of the Panama Canal · August 15, 2027
- First Transatlantic Telegraph Message · August 16, 2027