英语课程计划-Mother's Day（在线收听）

Mother's Day is an important day all around the world, even though it started in North America and Europe. Not all countries celebrate it on the same day, but the most popular day is the second Sunday in May. It is, of course, a day to honour our mothers and make them feel extra special. A punctuation point about the day is that most countries choose the singular possessive “Mother’s Day”, with the apostrophe before the ‘s’ to show that each family honours their mother, rather than all of the world’s mothers. Young children get especially excited about Mother’s Day and put a lot of effort into making cards and presents for their Mums, or Moms in America. For mothers, it is like having a second birthday.

Mother’s Day in the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia, etc. means mothers usually get the day off from housework. It is common for children to cook for their mother so she can have breakfast in bed. She also receives presents, flowers and cards. In America, Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants, as children take their Mums to lunch and/or dinner. Americans spend a lot on this day - over $2.5 billion on flowers and $70 million on Mother’s Day cards. In Sweden, people buy small plastic flowers and the money raised goes to help needy mothers and their children. Many people are against the idea of Mother’s Day as it is upsetting for children (and adults) who have lost their mother. Spare a thought for them this Mother’s Day.