the country split in 1993, Slovakia started celebrating both Women's Day and Mother's Day. The politicization of Women's Day has affected the official status of Mother's Day. Center-right parties want Mother's Day to replace Women's Day, and social-democrats want to make Women's Day an official holiday. Currently, both days are festive, but they are not "state holidays". In the Slovak Republic, Mother's Day is celebrated every second Sunday in May. South Africa In South Africa, Mother's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. It is not recognized as a holiday by the government. The tradition is to give cards and gifts and to serve mothers breakfast in bed or to go out to lunch together as a family. South Sudan In South Sudan, Mother's Day is celebrated on the first Monday in July. The president Salva Kiir Mayardit proclaimed Mother's Day as the first Monday in July after handing over from Sudan. Children in South Sudan are presenting mothers with gifts and flowers. The first Mother's Day was held in that country on 2 July 2012. Spain In Spain, Mother's Day or Día de la Madre is celebrated on the first Sunday of May. The weeks leading up to this Sunday, school children spend a few hours a day preparing a gift for their mothers, aided by their school teachers. In general, mothers receive gifts from their family members & this day is meant to be celebrated with the whole family. It is also said to be celebrated in May, as May is the month dedicated to the Virgin Mary (mother of Jesus) according to Catholicism. The idea of a month dedicated specifically to Mary can be traced back to baroque times. Although it wasn't always held during May, Mary Month included thirty daily spiritual exercises honoring Mary. In 1925 the Valencian poet Julio Menéndez García published a Hymn to Mother in a pamphlet in which he proposed the celebration of Mother's Day in all Spanish-speaking countries. The official declaration was never produced, but at that time the initiative was adopted at a local level on different dates; thus, for example, in Madrid, Mother's Day was celebrated on 4 October 1926. In 1939 the Youth Front of FET y de las JONS party, promoted the celebration of Mother's Day coinciding with the feast of the Immaculate Conception, on 8 December. In the early 1960s, on the initiative of