Mothering Sunday

So yesterday was Mother's Day over here in the UK. Instead of being a fixed date as it is in the US, here Mothering Sunday happens on the fourth Sunday of Lent. According to the BBC:

Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Lent. Although it's often called "Mother's Day" it has no connection with the American festival of that name.Traditionally, it was a day when children, mainly daughters, who had gone to work as domestic servants were given a day off to visit their mother and family. Today it is a day when children give presents, flowers, and home made cards to their mothers.

History of Mothering Sunday:
Most Sundays in the year churchgoers in England worship at their nearest parish or "daughter church". Centuries ago it was considered important for people to return to their home or "mother" church once a year. So each year in the middle of Lent, everyone would visit their "mother" church, or the main church or Cathedral of the area. Inevitably the return to the "mother" church became an occasion for family reunions when children who were working away returned home. (It was quite common in those days for children to leave home for work once they were ten years old.) And most historians think that it was the return to the "Mother" church which led to the tradition of children, particularly those working as domestic servants, or as apprentices, being given the day off to visit their mother and family. As they walked along the country lanes, children would pick wild flowers or violets to take to church or give to their mother as a small gift.

So yesterday, in church, at the end of the service, we handed out daffodils to all the women in the church. I actually had two kids in attendence (ages about 7 and 3....kids are quite rare at St. Faiths) and they helped me pass them out. We had a ball! Everybody left with a big smile on their face. It was grand!

So, Happy Mother's Day!