The History of Mothering Sunday

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To begin with: Happy Mothering! Today the one day of the year that has been traditionally reserved to celebrate and thank all mothers- biological, adopted or just any caring woman, has been transformed into a chance to sell merchandise involved with mothers. In this blog post, we are going to delve deep into the history of this festival and discover what it really is about.

Mothering Sunday (now known as 'Mother's Day') is traditional Christian Festival that falls annually on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Originally the day that is used to celebrate Mothering Sunday was the day that everyone would go to the Mother Church which was the main church and sometimes cathedral in their area. This was normally a day looked forward to by families because it meant that they could meet up and gather without it clashing with any jobs members of the family had.

A Simnel Cake
When the time came that it was common for people to work in great manors and houses as domestic servants, Mothering Sunday was a day that the employees could return home. It was on this day that historians believe that people (especially children/ youth and mainly girls) would bring their mother a small gift as a sign of affection. Traditionally a fruit cake known as a Simnel Cake was taken home, this type of cake has eleven balls of marzipan on top to represent the disciples of Christ (but not Judas).

In America, however, Mothering Sunday was replaced by 'Mother's Day'. This occurred in 1914 and was declared by the at the time president.

Sources:
~ BBC Religions: Christianity: Mothering Sunday
~ Wikipedia: Mothering Sunday
~ The Telegraph: The true origins of Mothering Sunday

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