Mother’s Day 2026 falls on May 10 in the U.S., Canada and Australia

Mother’s Day 2026 lands on Sunday, May 10 in the United States, Canada and Australia, following the long-running rule that puts the holiday on the second Sunday in May.

It is not a federal holiday, so schools, stores, restaurants and transit systems are expected to follow normal Sunday schedules even as the day drives one of the year’s biggest gift and dining rushes.

In the United States, the modern holiday traces back to Anna Jarvis and the campaign that led President Woodrow Wilson to issue a 1914 proclamation.

In that proclamation, Wilson called for the second Sunday in May to be observed as “Mother’s Day” and described it as “a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.”

The Library of Congress says Jarvis held an 1908 memorial service in West Virginia that became the seed of the holiday as it is known today.

The date is not universal. Other countries observe mothers on different Sundays or on different calendar dates entirely, which is why Mother’s Day can fall weeks apart depending on where you are.

In the U.K., for example, the celebration is Mothering Sunday and is tied to the church calendar rather than the May schedule used in the U.S. and Canada.

For families planning around the holiday, the timing means the usual late-spring spike in flowers, cards, restaurant reservations and delivery orders is already underway.

Holiday references note that businesses often see heavier traffic around the day, even though the holiday itself does not trigger a federal shutdown.