Mother's Day: Because "I Want To" or "I Have To"?

We might not say it as often as we should, but most of us love our mothers. Mother's Day then, is surely the perfect opportunity to show your feelings and appreciation. According to a new YouGov survey though, larges shares of people in some countries see it as more of a hassle pushed on us by commercial entities such as card companies. It seems that the feeling of 'having to' show your love on a specific day is troublesome for a lot of us.

Of the countries surveyed, nowhere is this more true than in Denmark, where 61 percent of adults say Mother's Day is mainly celebrated because of pressure from commercial interests. The story is similar in Sweden and Germany, but this isn't a view typical of the whole of Europe. At the other end of the scale, 85 percent of those asked in Poland said that it's a "proper" special occasion and is celebrated accordingly. Relatively high levels of this sentiment can also be found in China and India.