Parents' Worship Day, known as ''Matri Pitri Poojan Diwas'' (also ''Matru Pitru Poojan Divas'') was started by Asaram Bapu in 2007 as an alternative to

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

. It is celebrated on

14 February It is observed in most countries as Valentine's Day. Events Pre-1600 * 748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the A ...

every year. It is based on the Sanskrit words for mother (मातृ, ''mātṛ'') and father (पितृ, ''pitŕ'').

History

The day was first celebrated on 14 February 2007 at Sant Shri Asharamji's Gurukul, Ahmedabad. This festival draws its inspiration from the pujan of

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

and

Parvati Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...

performed by

Ganesha Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

. In India, Valentine's Day is being substituted with "Parents Worship Day", a celebration of love between parents and their children, amid concerns about teenage pregnancy. According to

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

, the Indian state of

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of India, state in Central India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the List ...

has been celebrating Matru-Pitru Pujan Diwas since 2012, on the advice of Asharamji bapu. It is officially celebrated by the Chhattisgarh Govt in schools and colleges as ordered by the Chief Minister

Raman Singh Raman Singh (born 15 October 1952) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the speaker of the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly since 2023. Formerly, he served as the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and holding the position for thre ...

. In 2013 some schools & colleges in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar () is the capital and the largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. It is located in the Khordha district. The suburban region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Chakra ...

started to celebrate the Parents Worship Day. In 2015 the state government led by the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

made it an official celebration. In 2015 the right wing political party

Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha (), simply known as Hindu Mahasabha, is a Hindu nationalist political party in India. Founded in 1915 by Madan Mohan Malviya, the Mahasabha functioned mainly as a pressure group advocating the interests of O ...

endorsed the day. On 14 February 2015, it was celebrated on a large scale by an NGO Bhartiya Yuwa Shakthi at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Krida Mandal, Nehru Nagar,

Kurla Kurla (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, uɾlaː is a suburb of East Mumbai, India. It is the headquarters of the Kurla taluka of Mumbai Suburban district. The neighbourhood is named after the eponymous Bombay East Indians, East Indian vill ...

. The event imparted theoretical and practical values to parents and children. It was celebrated by Sanatan Dharma Sabha in

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

in 2015, 2016, and 2017. In 2017 the

District collector The district magistrate, also known as the district collector or deputy commissioner, is a career civil servant who serves as the executive head of a district's administration in India. The specific name depends on the state or union territo ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

issued a notice for schools, youth and urged people to celebrate 14 February as Matru-Pitru Pujan Diwas. In December 2017, the education minister of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

, Neera Yadav issued a notice to celebrate the day in 40,000 government schools in the state in 2018. In 2018,

Gujarat Technological University Gujarat Technological University (International Innovative University), commonly referred as ''GTU'', is a public state university affiliating many engineering, pharmacy, and management colleges in Gujarat, India India, officially the ...

and Swaminarayan Institute of Technology celebrated Parents Worship Day to reaffirm respect towards Parents. In 2019, Gujarat Education Minister, Bhupendrasinh Chudasama appreciated the initiative of celebrating 14 February as Matru Pitru Pujan Diwas. In 2020, Gujarat Education department told schools to organize Parents Worship Day on 14 February in order to nurture best values from childhood and to protect Indian culture. In 2024, Education minister Madan Dilawar of Rajasthan mentioned about the plan to conduct Parents Worship Day celebration from the next academic session.

Celebration

Matru Pitru Poojan Diwas

Matru Pitru Poojan Diwas (MPPD) also called Matra Pitra Pujan Divas is a festival initiated by Asaramji bapu. On this day, children from all religions worship their parents and seek their blessings by offering them tilak, garland. It is seen by many as a method to cement the bond between family members and to imbibe good values like respect, obedience and humility in children. Right wing activists claim that it is an alternate method to counter

teenage pregnancy Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female under the age of 20. Worldwide, pregnancy complications are the leading cause of death for women and girls 15 to 19 years old. The definition of teenage pregnancy i ...

. In several states like

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

, Valentine's Day has been officially renamed as Matru-Pitru Pujan Diwas. As per Directorate of Public Instructions, every year February 14 is celebrated as Parents' Worship Day instead of Valentine's Day in Chhattisgarh. Parents are invited to schools and children worship them by performing aarti and offering sweets.

Abba Ammi Ibadat Diwas

Muslim students expressed love for parents by celebrating the day as 'Abba Ammi Ibadat Diwas'.

References

{{reflist Festivals in India February observances