An invitation to honor your mother from Hope Renewed International
Celebrating Mother’s Day in Guatemala
From the first moment a mother cradles her new-born infant, she feels an outpouring of love for her child that encompasses her whole being. This love isn’t something she controls or tries to make happen; it’s a powerful force that claims her heart.
The women below show their love to their children - helping make a better life for them thanks in part to the donations given to Hope Renewed International.
“We love because He first loved us,” states Jesus’ disciple, John (1John4:19). And so, as a reflection of God’s love, we believe the Holy Spirit instills the love of a child into the heart of the mother. At Hope Renewed International (HRI), we’ve been blessed to see this powerful love force firsthand as we support the mothers of Guatemala.
This Mother’s Day, we invite you to join in the blessing by honoring your mom with a supportive gift. We will explain how in a moment. But first, here’s a bit about Mother’s Day in Guatemala and HRI’s Dorothy S. Farnet Sewing Center that will soon give hundreds of moms new hope in the midst of poverty.
Why Mother’s Day is May 10
In Guatemala, Mother’s Day, or Dias de las Madres, always falls on May 10th, instead of the second Sunday of the month as it does in the U.S.
Early Christians celebrated the fourth Sunday of Lent as a mother's festival to honor Mary, the mother of Jesus. But May 10 wasn’t officially recognized as the national holiday of Mother’s Day in Guatemala until 1968.
It’s one of two days each year that moms are the focal point in the Latin American culture. The other is December 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration, a religious holiday.
Mother’s Day Traditions
Guatemala’s Mother’s Day traditions encompass working mothers, new moms, and abuelitas, or grandmotherly figures. In typical Latin American style, the day begins before sunrise with blaring music and ear-splitting fireworks–because doesn’t every hard-working mom want to be roused from sleep on her special day?
Mothers who work get the day off and typically gather with family, extended family and friends for a celebration featuring plenty of traditional foods. New mothers are welcomed to the community and may be presented with small gifts.
Children show affection to their mothers by making breakfast or lunch. For dinner, restaurants are usually packed since no one wants their mother to have to cook on Mother’s Day in Guatemala.
Schoolchildren may also perform skits, recite poems, dance, and sing songs in honor of their mothers. Families that can afford to buy flowers, give red or pink carnations as gifts to their mothers and place white carnations on the graves of mothers who have passed away.
Honor Your Mom this Mother’s Day
Due to the current pandemic, visiting your mom in person may not be possible. But there’s a gift you can give to honor her important role in your family, even if she or another maternal figure in your life has passed away. You can support Guatemala’s impoverished women and children, by giving a Mother’s Day legacy gift in the name of your loved one.
About the Sewing Center
An important program your donation will help support is the Dorothy S. Farnet Centro de Costura (DSF Sewing Center). Located in La Limonada, one of the most impoverished areas in all of Guatemala, DSF will offer students training in everything from use and maintenance of the center’s industrial sewing machines to basic business management skills. From the skills learned at DSF, women will be able to start their own businesses, making and selling clothes, backpacks, purses and home goods. For families earning only $1 a day—not enough to keep food on the table—these skills will be life-changing!
The DSF Sewing Center is hoping to open by fall 2021. Construction of the center building is nearly completed, and eight sewing machines are ready to be installed. Yet much more needs to be done—identify and train sewing instructors, shipping of the collected sewing tools and sewing materials, completion of the construction on the building.
We need people like you to make the DFS Sewing Center possible. There are lots of ways to support and get involved. Take action today!