a chain of department stores (Galerías Preciados), which copied the custom established in Cuba, Mother's Day was also celebrated on the first Sunday of May (El Corte Inglés, the great competitor of Galerías Preciados, celebrated the holiday in December). The two dates, May and December, coexisted until 1965 when the ecclesiastical authorities chose to celebrate the festival in May, within the month consecrated to the Virgin, to recover the authentic character of the Day of the Immaculate Conception. Sri Lanka In Sri Lanka, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. Sweden In Sweden, Mother's Day was first celebrated in 1919, by an initiative of the author Cecilia Bååth-Holmberg. It took several decades for the day to be widely recognized. Swedes born in the early nineteen hundreds typically did not celebrate the day because of the common belief that the holiday was invented strictly for commercial purposes. This was in contrast to Father's Day, which has been widely celebrated in Sweden since the late 1970s. Mother's Day in Sweden is celebrated on the last Sunday in May. A later date was chosen to allow everyone to go outside and pick flowers. Switzerland In Switzerland, the "règle de Pentecôte" law allows Mother's Day to be celebrated a week late if the holiday falls on the same day as Pentecost. In 2008, merchants declined to move the date. By country (T–Z) Taiwan In Taiwan, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of the month of May, coinciding with Buddha's birthday and the traditional ceremony of "washing the Buddha". In 1999 the Taiwanese government established the second Sunday of May as Buddha's birthday, so they would be celebrated in the same day. Since 2006, the Tzu Chi, the largest charity organization in Taiwan, celebrates the Tzu Chi Day, Mother's Day and Buddha's birthday all together, as part of a unified celebration and religious observance. Thailand Mother's day in Thailand is celebrated on the birthday of the Queen Mother of Thailand, Sirikit (12 August). The holiday was first celebrated around the 1980s as part of the campaign by the Prime Minister of Thailand Prem Tinsulanonda to promote Thailand's Royal family. Father's Day is celebrated on the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej's birthday. Ukraine Ukraine celebrates Mother's Day () on the second Sunday of May. In Ukraine, Mother's Day officially became a holiday in 1999 and has been celebrated since 2000. Ukrainian society