The Mother’s Day we’re most familiar with falls on the second Sunday of May—America’s Mother’s Day. In fact, many countries and regions have their own ways of honoring mothers. Do Tibetan people have a similar tradition? Today, Genuo Speaks brings you a special look at Mother’s Day from a Tibetan perspective.
The idea of Mother’s Day can be traced back to ancient Greece, where people held festivals to honor Hera, the mother of the gods. By the mid-17th century, the custom had spread to the United Kingdom. There, the fourth Sunday of Lent became known as Mothering Sunday—a day when young people working away from home would return to visit their mothers and bring small gifts.
The modern concept of Mother’s Day originated in the United States, initiated by Anna Jarvis. She never married and spent her life caring for her mother, Mrs. Ann Reeves Jarvis, who had devoted over twenty years to church service. Anna proposed the creation of a special day to honor mothers for their quiet, selfless contributions. Sadly, her mother passed away before this dream could be realized. Determined to fulfill her mother’s wish, Anna began holding memorial activities in 1907 and campaigned to make Mother’s Day an official holiday. In 1913, the U.S. Congress officially designated the second Sunday of May as Mother’s Day and encouraged families to fly the national flag in honor of mothers.
Why carnations on Mother’s Day? Carnations were Mrs. Jarvis’s favorite flower. In May 1934, the United States issued its first Mother’s Day commemorative postage stamp, which featured a kind-faced mother gazing fondly at a vase of vibrant carnations. The stamp’s widespread circulation helped cement the association between carnations and Mother’s Day. The flower came to symbolize maternal love and is still widely cherished today.
But what about Tibetan traditions? Are there any festivals that reflect gratitude toward parents?
Every year on the 22nd day of the 9th month in the Tibetan lunar calendar, monasteries across Tibet repaint their outer walls, and families thoroughly clean their household shrines in preparation for the traditional religious holiday known as Lhabab Düchen (Tibetan: ལྷ་བབས་དུས་ཆེན།), which means “the Festival of Buddha’s Descent to Earth.” Though primarily a religious celebration, it has a strong connection to maternal love. According to tradition, this is the day when Shakyamuni Buddha returned to Earth after ascending to the heavenly realms to preach the Dharma to his mother as an act of filial piety. On this day, people visit temples, perform circumambulations, and offer incense smoke in devotion—expressions that also serve to honor one’s parents.
In 2007, the Amdo region organized various activities centered around parental gratitude on this day. That same year, following a formal proposal, the Qinghai Provincial People’s Congress approved the official designation of the 22nd day of the 9th month in the Tibetan calendar as a day dedicated to repaying the kindness of parents.
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