El Dia de la Madre -Learn Mother's Day Vocabulary in Spanish

El Dia de la Madre -Learn Mother's Day Vocabulary in Spanish
Page content

Although El Dia de la Madre –Mother’s Day– is celebrated in many countries the world over, the date varies. In Spain, Mother’s Day always falls on the first Sunday of May. In Mexico, Mother’s Day has a fixed date, which is May 10 and in Argentine, Mother’s Day is celebrated in October.

Words and Phrases

The most important proverb is this:

Madre no hay mas que una - you only have one mother

La madre - mother

Te quiero - I love you

Los hijos - children

El corazon - heart

El alma (f) - soul

El nacimiento - birth

feliz - happy

Las felizidades - congratulation

El amor - love

El agradecimiento - gratefulness

La celebracion - celebration

La ternura - tenderness

La dulcura - sweetness

El Domingo - Sunday

El Mayo - May

El ramo de flores - bunch of flowers

La rosa - rose

El desayuno - breakfast

El regalo - gift

Hecho a mano - hand made

El beso - kiss

El abrazo - hug

La mejilla - cheek

La boca - mouth

conmemorar - remember

Celebrations and Rituals

La tarjeta - gift card

Gift cards play an important role and much effort is made by Spanish children to make the gift cards themselves. On Sunday, children wake their mothers with a kiss and a hug, bunches of flowers, the precious cards and any other gifts the children may have bought or made to celebrate the special day and honor their mothers. They might also serve her breakfast in bed, which in Spain would be coffee and pastries. All day long, they will try to be on their best behavior.

Poem

Learn more Spanish words with this lovely poem (an extract) by Rosalia de Castro:

Yo tuve una dulce madre

I had a sweet mother

concedieramela el cielo

whom heaven gave to me

mas tierna que la ternura

softer than softness

mas angel que mi angel bueno

greater angel than my guardian angel

en su regazo amoroso

in her loving lap

sonaba - sueno quimerico

I dreamed a fleeting dream

dejar esta ingrata vida

to leave this miserable life

al blando son de sus rezon

listening to the soft murmur of her prayers

mas la dulce madre mia

and my sweet mother

sintio el corazon enfermo

felt the broken heart

que de ternura y dolores

which with sweetness and pain

ay! derritiose en su pecho

melted in her breast.

pronto las tristes campanas

and soon the sad bells

dieron al viento sus echos

sent their echos into the wind

muriose la madre mia

my mother died

senti rasgarse mi seno

and I felt my breast torn apart

la virgen de las Mercedes

the virgin of Mercedes

estaba junto a mi lecho

was close by my bed

tengo otra madre el lo alto

I have another mother Above

por eso yo no me he muerto

therefore I didn’t die.

Feliz Dia de la Madre! Happy Mother’s Day!