October 15th was Mother's Day in Malawi! Everyone actually gets the day off from work or school. My office shut down. It is the only holiday in the fall, so people were really looking forward to it.
I learned about the different ways Malawi children celebrate Mother's Day! Similar to us, they give presents to their moms and thank them for everything they do. And, they make sure that their moms do not have to do any cooking or cleaning.
A common gift is chitenje fabric. Chitenje is the name of traditional African fabric sold in markets. Women use it to make clothes or to strap a baby to their bodies in a sling. (Fun fact: the plural of chitenje isn't chitenje, it's zitenje!)
In Malawi, mothers are really respected for a few reasons. First, they do a lot of work for their children. Second, all older adults need to be treated with more respect here. Children call their mother "ma'am" and their father "sir." Third, in the area where I live, society is "matriarchal." This means that property is passed down from mother to daughter.
