Mother's Day in Costa Rica: the story of 15 August

In Costa Rica, Mother's Day is on 15 August, and it is a public holiday. Here is where the date comes from, when the holiday has moved and how much motherhood in the country has changed in twenty years.

Where Mother's Day comes from

The date was not proposed by the Government but by a school. The decree's file is kept at the National Archive, and these are its steps to the present:

1. 1
   The initiative. The Nicolás Ulloa School in Heredia proposes setting aside a day of the year for mothers.
2. 2
   8 August 1932, the decree. Decree no. 79 declares 15 August of each year “Mother's Day”. Its file is at the National Archive, in the Legislative Assembly collection (reference 021426).
3. 3
   Today, a public holiday. 15 August is one of the nine paid public holidays in article 148 of the Labour Code.
4. 4
   2020 and 2023, the only moves. As one-offs, the holiday was taken on Monday 17 August 2020 and Monday 14 August 2023.
5. 5
   2026 and 2027. It falls on a Saturday in 2026 and a Sunday in 2027; the current article 148 does not provide for moving it.

Timeline

Motherhood in Costa Rica, in figures

For a population to replace itself, each woman must have 2.1 children on average. Costa Rica was at that level in 2004 and 2005; since 2006 it has been below it, and since 2020 below 1.5, what INEC calls ultra-low fertility. In 2024 the average was 1.12 children per woman.

In 2024, 37 % fewer babies were born than in 2004. Births to mothers under 20 fell from 14,844 to 4,055, while births to mothers aged 35 to 39 rose from 5,784 to 6,321. Women's average age at their first child went from 21.8 to 25.5.

Curious facts

• Fertility among teenagers aged 15 to 19 fell from 68.6 to 21.8 births per thousand women between 2004 and 2024, the biggest drop of any age group.
• In 2004 there were 17 births per thousand inhabitants; in 2024, nine.
• Today the 25-29 group has the most births, at 61.3 per thousand women; in 2004 the highest rates, over 100, belonged to women aged 20 to 29.
• The historian Eugenia Rodríguez traced how the date took shape in her article “Inventing Mother's Day in Costa Rica: 1890-1932”, in the University of Costa Rica's Reflexiones journal.

Frequently asked questions

Is Mother's Day a public holiday in Costa Rica?

Yes. 15 August is a public holiday with mandatory pay, under article 148 of the Labour Code. If someone works that day, articles 149 and 152 require double the ordinary wage.

Is it moved to a Monday?

It was moved only as a one-off in 2020 (to Monday the 17th) and 2023 (to Monday the 14th). The current article 148 provides for no further moves: in 2026 it falls on Saturday the 15th and in 2027 on Sunday the 15th.

Since when has it been on 15 August?

Since Decree no. 79 of 8 August 1932, which declared it “Mother's Day” at the initiative of the Nicolás Ulloa School in Heredia, according to the file kept by the National Archive.

Sources

• National Archive of Costa Rica: “Decree establishing 15 August as Mother's Day”, file of Decree no. 79 of 8 August 1932 (ANCR, Legislative Assembly, 021426).
• Labour Code, articles 148, 149 and 152, and the transitional provision of article 148 (SINALEVI).
• INEC: 2024 Demographic Overview (births, total fertility rate, mother's age).
• INEC: 2024 Demographic Indicators (ultra-low fertility since 2020).
• Eugenia Rodríguez: “Inventando el Día de la Madre en Costa Rica: 1890-1932”, Reflexiones journal, University of Costa Rica.