When Mother’s Day comes around, treat mom to a vacation and
set course to sun drenched Costa Rica. After a year of cooking, cleaning and
running after the kids, mom deserves to lie on the beach or sit by the hotel
swimming pool, read a book, work on her tan, or just relax.
Costa Ricans celebrate Mother’s Day on August 15th. Children
of Costa Rican families might travel home to be with mom on her special day;
they might cook mom a special meal; give her a card, flowers or a gift, or take
her out on the town.
Costa Ricans love mothers, all mothers. Mother’s Day being a
national holiday in Costa Rica, banks, schools and small businesses close for the day so
employees can spend time with mom, and those who have to work receive holiday pay.
In shops you might see T-shirts and other items emblazed
with “Yo (big red heart) a Mama”, and it’s not unusual for local moms, and tourist
moms, to be greeted with “Feliz dia de la madre!”
This love and respect for moms stems undoubtedly from Costa
Rica being a Catholic country. On August 15th the country also celebrates the Feast of
the Assumption, known as the day that the Virgin Mary ascended to heaven.
The Virgin Mary being the most important mother in all of
Catholic history, Costa Ricans take their cue from religion and have honored their
mothers on this day throughout the years.
Not that flowers and gifts were always part of Mother’s Day.
For Costa Rican grandmothers the day was just like any other day, but as North
Americans adopted the day to honor mom and commercialized it, Costa Ricans
embraced this new way wholeheartedly to pay tribute to the moms in their lives.
