when it is and ideas for celebrating 'la festa della mamma'. |
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| "For you, mother, one kiss for every heart". |
Wherever in the world they may be,
Italian mothers are the focus of family traditions.
Italian mothers are the focus of family traditions.
Here's our ideas for celebrating your
Italian'mamma', and poems for Mother's Day
that you can make your own!
Italian'mamma', and poems for Mother's Day
that you can make your own!
Have you got an Italian mother?
You'll know all about it if you have!
You'll know all about it if you have!
Tell us what's special about her - or write her a poem. See further down this page for your chance to pay tribute to your Italian mamma.
There is definitely a tie between the worship of the Madonna - the symbol of perfect motherhood - and the reverence for mothers in Italy.
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| Powerful Italian mothers : Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi with his late mother. |
In fact it sometimes seems that they run the country as every Italian man, and every man with an Italian background, defers to "Mamma" when there are important decisions to be made.
So it's perhaps not surprising that Mother's Day in Italy is a big occasion.
When is Mother's Day in Italy?
Italy, like the United States, celebrates Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May each year. In 2010 it was 9th May; in 2011 it will fall on 8th May.
Italian family traditions :
the history of Mother's Day in Italy.
Like most feast-days in Italy, Mother's Day can be traced back to ancient Roman culture when a whole week of celebrations to honour the goddess Juno were held in May.
Juno, whose name means 'vital force' - a great description for Italian mothers - was the Roman goddess of marriage and motherhood. The tradition of ancient Roman weddings to ensure a good marriage and fertility was to marry in Juno's month (June) - a tradition still kept in modern Italian weddings.
Italian family traditions : "mother church".
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With the passing of time and the coming of Christianity, this tradition evolved into a religious festival when 'mother' referred to the mother church, the giver of spiritual life. It was important for people to return to their home villages and visit their 'mother' church - the church in which they were baptised.
And for Italian mothers, attending church on Mother's Day morning is still an important part of tradition.
But how did Italy get from there to celebrating Mother's Day as it is now?
When is Mother's Day celebrated in modern Italian tradition?
'Mothering Sunday' has been celebrated in the UK since the 17th Century, when it was an agreed day on which working children could have a day off to return to their home town to visit their mothers, often taking a gift of wildflowers or a sweet cake.
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| Italian greetings have taken on an American feel. |
It's now a highly commercialised event : an estimated 15.8 billion dollars is spent on meals, gifts and cards each year on Mother's Day in America alone.
And in Italy, it was 1957 before the American holiday was adopted but the Italian Mother's Day has now become one of the most popular of all Italian family traditions.
It remains third on the list of holidays when consumers spend the most, behind Christmas and Valentine's day.
Italian family traditions : what happens on Mother's Day in Italy.
So - how are Italian mothers spoiled on Mother's Day in Italy?
The answer is - very simply. There's no great razzmatazz - like Easter Monday it's a day for families to get together to celebrate.
Most importantly, everyone who is able returns to their home and those who cannot, perhaps because of work, make sure they send a card, a letter, a poem, or a phone call. Italian phone companies record their highest volume of calls all year as children take the opportunity to express their appreciation to their mother.
The day itself will centre on activities that bring the whole family together. La mamma will not be allowed to do any housework on her special day; breakfast will be made for her - fresh pastries and coffee as a surprise - and children will give her home-made gifts of cards and fresh flowers.
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| "Happy Mother's Day!". |
Lunch will be held either in the family home or, increasingly, at a local restaurant : Italian Mother's Day has become the most popular day of the year to dine out in Italy. Wherever it's held there will be flowers on the table and lots of simple food.
The meal is always rounded off with a sweet cake, the most popular being an Italian cheesecake, and perhaps a liqueur coffee.
Italian family traditions : poems for Mother's Day.
Italian Mother's Day is not as commercialised as in some other countries. It's a day for families and for very personal expressions of love.
Cards are more rare than elsewhere too, and it's far more common for children to write their own poems for Mother's Day than to buy a shop-bought effort.
Here are some examples of simple Italian poems for Mother's Day : use them with our free interactive e-cards to send to your mamma - or have a go at writing your own.
| La parola "madre" É nascosta nel cuore; E sale alle labbra Nei momenti dei dolore E di felicità. Come il profumo sale Dal cuore della rosa E si mescola all'aria chiara. | The word "mother" Lies dormant in the heart; And comes to the lips In moments of sadness And of joy, Like perfume comes From the heart of the rose And mixes with the clear air. |
Mamma, tu sei la donna Più bella del mondo! Ti ofro questo fiore - Giallo come il sole E carico di amore. | Mother, you are the most beautiful Woman in the world! I offer you this flower - Yellow, like the sun, And full of love. |
| Oggi è la tua festa Ti offro baci e fiori - Grazie, mamma, Per il tuo immenso amore. Stringimi forte al cuore, La vita insieme è bella : Io sarò il tuo cielo azzurro, Tu sarai la mia stella. | Today is your special day. I offer you kisses and flowers - Thank you, mother, For your immense love. Pull me close to your heart, For life together is beautiful : I'll be your blue sky, You'll be my star. |
| Se fossi un pittore, Dipingerei un quadro Con tutti i colori del creato. Al centro metterei Un cuore tutto d'oro E sotto, scriverei : Mamma, tu sei il più bel tesoro! | If I were a painter I would paint a picture With all the colours of creation. In the centre, I would put A heart, made all of gold, And under it I would write : Mother, you are the most beautiful of treasures! |
Would you like to tell the world about
your Italian 'mamma'?
Want to send your mother some Mother's Day wishes? Feel like writing her a poem? Have a great story to tell about her?
Here's your chance! Share your story, feelings or creative writing here and surprise your mother on her special day!
Italian Mother's Day to our home page about Italian culture.
