President Sukarno made Indonesian Mother’s Day an official holiday in 1953.
Indonesia celebrates Mother’s Day, or Hari Ibu, on December 22. Sukarno formalized the date through Presidential Decree No. 316 of 1953, connecting the holiday to the 25th anniversary of the first Indonesian Women’s Congress. The decision gave the observance an explicitly national and historical meaning rather than making it simply a family occasion.
The original emphasis of Hari Ibu was the spirit of Indonesian women and their contribution to improving the nation. Over time, popular practice shifted toward expressing love and gratitude to mothers, with gifts, flowers, surprise parties, and competitions involving cooking or wearing the kebaya.
The holiday is often confused with the Western Mother’s Day model associated with Anna Jarvis and the United States’ second Sunday in May. Indonesia’s December date instead commemorates an Indonesian women’s movement and the opening day of the 1928 congress in Yogyakarta. Sukarno was Indonesia’s first president, while Suharto later led the country during the New Order period.