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Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu

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A NEW survey from World Remit, a leading digital remittances company, has shown that 44 percent of migrants wish that Mother’s Day was celebrated on the same day around the world – pointing to the cultural difficulties faced by those who live in a different country to their mother.

Mother’s Day is celebrated on different dates across the world, ranging from the second Sunday of February in Norway to the 15th of October in Malawi.

The most popular Mother’s Day celebrations dates are the fourth week of Lent in March (such as in the United Kingdom and Nigeria), and the second Sunday in May (such as in Zimbabwe, the United States of America, South Africa and Australia).

Conducted in February with 3 000 participants, the multi-country survey was focused on understanding how migrants celebrate their relationship with their mothers.

The survey found that while 95 percent of respondents celebrate Mother’s Day, nearly a quarter (23 percent agree that it is easy to forget when Mother’s Day is celebrated in their family’s country of origin.

“While the majority of respondents (44 percent) celebrate Mother’s Day on the day their country of residence celebrates, over a third of respondents (35percent) noted that they celebrate Mother’s Day twice a year; recognizing the celebratory date in their family’s country of origin, in addition to the country they currently reside in.

“About 44 percent of respondents agree that they wish that Mother’s Day was celebrated on the same day around the world,” read the report.

“World Remit’s survey found that 97 percent of respondents agree that their mother has been influential in shaping them as a person. In addition, 97 percent of respondents agree that their mother helped them to get to where they are in their lives currently. Finally, 96 percent of respondents agree that their mother supports them in their life choices.”

Flowers were revealed as the most popular gift choice, with 63 percent of respondents citing that they planned on giving flowers on Mother’s Day. 57 percent of participants noted that they would be sending their mother money on Mother’s Day.