What Mother’s Day is

The US and much of the world keep Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May, a date established by Anna Jarvis in 1914.

The UK and Ireland instead keep Mothering Sunday, the fourth Sunday in Lent, which is a different holiday with a different origin.

When it falls, and why the date moves

The countdown at the top of this page is live, and the date beneath it is the next occurrence. The date is set by a weekday rule rather than a fixed number, so it lands on a different date each year within a known window.

It is grouped here under Global, alongside the other observances that share its calendar.

What is coming up next

Once this date passes, the countdown moves straight on to the next occurrence — you do not need a different page for next year. See the full list of upcoming events, or use the countdown timer for a date of your own.

Where to go next

This mother’s day countdown has its own page, so the link keeps working next year as well as this one. If you came here wondering what time it is somewhere rather than how long is left, World Clock has the current time in every country and city.

• event countdowns — live countdowns to holidays and festivals worldwide
• countdown timer — count down from any length you set
• World Clock — pick a country or city and read its clock, offset and daylight saving rules
• time zone converter — turn a time in one place into the same instant in another
• world time — the current time in every country, territory and US state