FCE LISTENING PRACTICE Mother’s Day or Parents’ Day

Mother’s Day or Parents’ Day:
This coming Sunday – the second Sunday in May – is Mother’s Day, a day when children do something special for their mother. One tradition is to give their mother breakfast in bed. Shops try to make Mother’s Day a commercial event and encourage people to buy something for their mother – something for the kitchen or a book. Later in the year, also on a Sunday, we have Father’s Day. Once again it is now a commercial occasion and shops advertise fishing rods, tools for the garage or a book about a famous sports’ person.
In 1994, in USA, Parents’ Day replaced Mother’s Day to honour both parents. It is the fourth Sunday in July. In Korea, also, Parents’ Day has replaced Mother’s Day. Children traditionally give their parents a red carnation flower, a real one or a paper one. Parents’ Day in Korea is today, May 8th.
Vocabulary
• tradition, traditionally – something that has happened the same way for many, many years

• commercial event / occasion – shops want people to buy gifts for mothers or fathers

• replace – take the place of

• honour – respect, remember with love

• carnation – a flower with a strong smell, a bit like pepper
Note the apostrophe before the ‘s’ for Mother’s Day (because we have just one mother) and after the ‘s’ for Parents’ Day because we have two parents.
Questions
• Do you have Mother’s Day in your country? Do you think it is necessary to honour your mother one day a year?

• Do you think we should have Parents’ Day instead of Mother’s Day?

• It is a stereotype to say that women want gifts for the kitchen and men want different gifts like books about sports. Is this the same in your culture?