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»Middle East Meets Far West
LR: Is there a Mothers' Day in Iranian culture? Does it fall in May like the North American version? FM: Yes, we do have a Mother's Day. It was once on the queen's mother birth date, December 16, but after the revolution, they changed the date to the birth date of the Prophet's daughter (Fatemeh). That is not a fixed date as it is according to Arabic calendar, which is lunar and changes each year! Most people still celebrate this day on its original date, but as a result of television special programs and societal acceptance, more and more are accepting the new date to celebrate Mother's Day. This year, Mother’s Day falls on July 16 in Iran. LR: What do people normally do to mark Mothers' Day? FM: We usually buy gifts or flowers to thank mothers for all they have done for us and show them how we appreciate their love and support for the whole family. At this specific time of year, all gift and floral shops are crazy busy and normally all the merchandise prices go up to their highest. I have also seen many children trying to create art crafts for their moms instead of buying a gift, which is more precious for moms. LR: What's a typical Mother's Day gift? What kinds of flowers are given to moms on this day? FM: Usually a nice scarf, a purse, or a piece of jewelery. It really depends on the person and what she may need. The flower is usually red roses, but not always. In Iran, there are many, many different kinds of flowers, and there are many florist shops. They decorate the flowers so beautifully (I miss those kinds of flowers here,) In many cases, people just buy a beautiful bunch of flowers or just one nice red rose to represent their pure love for their mother. LR: In North America, in urban centres, it's quite common for families to take their moms out for a meal. In fact, Mother's Day is considered the busiest day of the year for restaurants. Does Iranian culture have a similar tradition for relieving moms from cooking? FM: Yes absolutely, it happens a lot...but I can say in Iran, restaurants are always busy. Maybe on that day they are busier? As Iranian people are very family-oriented, usually all the children, I mean even those who are married and have their own families, will go to visit their “big mother”, like grandmas even great grandmas. Following tradition, grandmas themselves love to prepare dinner for everyone. In that case, Mother's Day becomes a family gathering day. I remember when we were in Iran, all aunts and uncles with their families were going to my grandma's house and each prepared their own food, something like a potluck. We had a nice party. Moms were receiving their gifts too but the whole party was basically for the grandma. |
