Which calendar determines Iran's Mother's Day date?

Iran’s Mother’s Day date is determined by the Islamic calendar.

The observance is held on 20 Jumada II, also written Jumada al-Thani, the sixth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. Because the Islamic year is about 10 to 12 days shorter than the Gregorian year, the celebration shifts earlier through the solar calendar from year to year.

The date commemorates the birth anniversary of Fatimah, Muhammad’s daughter and a major revered figure in Shia Islam. In Iran, the occasion also functions as Women’s Day, with public tributes and banners honoring Fatimah as an important religious model.

Iran’s observance has changed historically. Before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Mother’s Day was associated with 25 Azar, corresponding to 16 December, and was promoted during the Pahlavi period. The Islamic Republic replaced that date with 20 Jumada II. The Julian calendar is therefore not the relevant system, and the date should not be confused with the fixed second-Sunday-in-May observance common in many countries.