Mothers Day

The original meaning of Mothering Sunday is often unknown, although people tend to be aware that it always falls in the middle of the Christian festival of Lent. Mother's Day is the contemporary version of the original name - 'Mothering Sunday'.
Britain holds the prestige of being the first country in the world to dedicate a special day for mothers, as early as 17th century, although some in America would disagree with this. Anna Jarvice from West Virginia considers that she created this day to honour mothers and motherhood.
In Britain, Mother's Day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in the month of Lent. Since the days of Lent are not fixed, the date for Mother's Day keeps on changing as well. However, the emotions remain the same. The feelings associated with the day are much alike those in the rest of the world i.e. to express gratitude towards our mother. It is an opportunity for children to let their mother know that she is special and loved.
There is no absolute certainty as to exactly how the name of Mothering Sunday began. One theory is that the celebration was adopted from a Roman spring festival celebrating Cybele, their Mother Goddess. As Christianity spread, this date was adopted by Christians. The epistle in the Book of Common Prayer for this Sunday refers to the heavenly Jerusalem as "the Mother of all us all", and this may have prompted the customs we still see today.
The occasion has a long history, which dates back to as far back as the year 1600, a time . when the poor sent their children to work as domestic servants or trainees in the homes of the upper classes. Once a year, these children were given leave for one day, so that they could visit their Mother Church and at the same time their own mother. The day coincided with the middle Sunday of the fasting period of Lent and it became known as 'Refreshment Sunday' or 'Mid-Lent Sunday' - the one day in Lent when the fasting rules were relaxed, in honour of the Christian bible story, the 'Feeding of the Five Thousand'.
The children would visit their Mother Church and then head straight to meet their own mother, with some fresh flowers. While the boys would present their mother with flowers, girls would go a step further by presenting them freshly baked handmade cakes, called 'Simnel Cakes'. With time, the holiday came to be known as 'Mothering Sunday'. The custom of Mother's Day was halted when the world underwent Industrial revolution, but cam back into vogue after World War II.
As well as 'Refreshment Sunday', Mothering Sunday has many different names around the world, including Pudding Pie Sunday and Simnel Sunday.
However, like most things in today's world, the term Mothering Sunday has lost its original meaning and title. Nonetheless, the day is still recognised and celebrated by many. Gifts of flower and chocolates in the main are the gift of choice from very young children. But for adult children, any gift represents their love of their Mother on that day. Seems we still want to let our mums know that they are very special and very important place in our lives - a place that cannot be replaced by anyone else.

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