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One evening, while enjoying a conversation with friends, the topic of names and genealogy arose. How it came up, I am not sure, but what I learned from this, was worth sharing.

Realizing that I was the only one in the group from a foreign country, it was inevitable that I was asked to explain the last name structure in Spanish culture. Many in the US are already aware of the fact that Spanish speakers use a two-last-name combination; what a lot of people might not know is what each last name represents. The first last name is the father’s first last name of an individual, whereas the second last name is the mother’s first last name. You can refer to the simple graphic representation below of last names based on a short family tree structure. The generations are organized from newest at the top, to oldest at the bottom (father’s lineage on the left, mother’s lineage on the right):

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It is that time of year again: Huge amount of flowers, candy and greeting cards will be bought by husbands and children who want to do something nice for their wives and their mothers. Even those that do not see eye-to-eye with their mother feel pressured to follow that tradition.

Yes, it is Mother’s Day! This year it is celebrated in many countries on May 13th. It is the celebration in honor of all mothers and the influence of mothers in society. Without mothers, we would not exist. Most countries put aside one day per year to celebrate their mothers.

The tradition of celebrating mothers dates back many years and is the same throughout the countries. In all countries, women started the tradition of celebrating mothers. In the USA, in 1880 Julia Ward Howe was the first woman to announce a special Mother’s Day by calling all women to participate in her effort of disarmament, but that effort did not catch on. The actual current holiday was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 as she wanted to fulfill her mother’s dream of honoring all women.

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