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Each May, American families celebrate their matriarchs with brunches, flowers, cards, and phone calls. Thousands of years before this modern Mother’s Day tradition started, the ancient Romans had a similar observance, although it focused on marriage and childbirth at least as much as mothers themselves. Celebrated each year on March 1, Matronalia commemorated the establishment of a temple to Juno Lucina, the Roman goddess of childbirth, on Rome’s Esquiline Hill.
![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/2d1f59_8ab6cfe068a94ca0ad36dec5321f970e~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_78,h_41,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/2d1f59_8ab6cfe068a94ca0ad36dec5321f970e~mv2.jpg)
Each May, American families celebrate their matriarchs with brunches, flowers, cards, and phone calls. Thousands of years before this modern Mother’s Day tradition started, the ancient Romans had a similar observance, although it focused on marriage and childbirth at least as much as mothers themselves. Celebrated each year on March 1, Matronalia commemorated the establishment of a temple to Juno Lucina, the Roman goddess of childbirth, on Rome’s Esquiline Hill.