Q COSTA RICA – This year in Costa Rica, while it’s expected that the traditions won’t change and Mother’s Day (Dia de la Madres) is still celebrated on August 15, the official (paid) day off from work is actually on Monday, August 14th.
Despite criticism for giving way to the plan to boost local tourism through long weekends and a legislative bill that sought to return August 15 as a holiday for the celebration of Mother’s Day was approved by a motion to expedite its processing in the Legislative Assembly.
After a motion for a substitute text was approved, the bill did not advance further.
So, this year, although the legal holiday (day off work) is on August 14, it is likely that the festivities will go on August 15 as in the past.
The legislator for the Partido Liberacion Nacional (PLN), Kattia Rivera, explained that she will seek to promote the project in ordinary sessions so that next year the holiday is moved to the same August 15 and not be moved to Monday for creating a long weekend.
The law moving most holidays to a Monday was approved in 2020 by the government of Carlos Alvarado (2018-2022) in response to the pandemic, to promote tourist visitation and economic reactivation in the country
However, Rivera and most in Costa Rica believe it’s important that the Mother’s Day holiday on its original day
Mother’s Day is celebrated in many countries, but its date varies from country to country. For example, while Mother’s Day in Costa Rica is celebrated on August 15, coinciding with the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the celebration by our neighbors is May 30 in Nicaragua and December 8 in Panama.
Mother’s Day in Costa Rica, an initiative largely encouraged by the Catholic Church, was first celebrated in 1923.