Mother’s Day in Nicaragua is celebrated on May 30th and is known as “Día de las Madres”. It is the culmination of the “Month of the Mothers” (El mes de las madres).
This year is only the second time that Mother’s Day here in Nicaragua will be a Statutory Holiday (known as a día feriado). Working Moms will be able to take next Tuesday 30th of May off (with pay!) to celebrate with their family.
Anyone researching Mother’s Day in Nicaragua will most likely come across the now refuted story that in 1940 President Anastasio Somoza García declared it will be on May 30th in honor of his mother-in-law; Mrs. Casimira Sacasa, supposedly born on that day.
A simple investigation in 2011 by the sleuths at the Academy of Geography and History of Nicaragua (AGHN) seems to have easily disproved the legend of Somoza trying to ingratiate himself with his mother in law.
The AGHN determined that in 1940 Somoza did decree that May30th would be Mother’s Day in Nicaragua, however not for the reason the folklore states. The AGHN discovered that the birth and death registries for Mrs. Casimira Sacasa revealed that she was in fact born on January 18, 1872 and that she died on June 28th, 1953.
During their investigation, the AGHN also discovered evidence of a written article “The Cult of the Mother” which describes a 1939 meeting in Santo Domingo Park in Managua on the 30th of May for a Mass to celebrate Mother’s Day. They believe that the Somoza declaration of 1940 was more of a confirmation that this day was Mother’s Day in Nicaragua.
Another change to Mother’s Day was made in 1977 when Anastasio Somoza Debayle (Somoza García’s son) changed the date to “The last Sunday of May” to make it “more of a family day for the children and their mother”.
In 1980 the post revolution “National Reconstruction Government Board” repealed that decree from 1977 and Mother’s day reverted back to the current fixed day of May 30th.
No other country in the world designates May 30th as Mother’s Day in this way. The most popular date for Mother’s Day is the “Second Sunday of May” which has been adopted by almost 100 different countries from around the globe.
