The Origin of Mother's Day (Mothering Sunday)

Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday, to give it it’s correct name) is a day when we all give our mothers a present, some flowers and generally show our appreciation and love for all the things they have done for us throughout our lives.

That’s the modern-day version – but where did it originate from? Is this the true meaning of Mother’s Day?

It would appear that the first type of celebration of motherhood comes from Ancient Greece where a festival was held in the Spring to honour the Goddess Rhea who was the Mother of Gods and Goddesses (the Ancient Romans honoured the Goddess Cybele with a three day festival called “Hilara”).

In the UK, the Mother Church replaced the figure of the Goddess and people started to visit their Mother Church (the Church where they were Baptised at) during this time.

It must be remembered that at this time, many families had servants and employees who could be as young as ten years old living with them. It was during this time that these people would be encouraged by their employers to return home to visit their own families, they would often take something home with them (often a Simnel cake) as a gift to their mother.

Over time, this tradition died out and by the 19th Century, it had almost completely disappeared.

However, across the pond, a lady called Anna Jarvis embarked on a crusade which was inspired by her own mother, who had died in 1905. Anna Jarvis’s mother had always held that people should honour all mothers, living or dead, and pay tribute to the contributions made by them.

Anna lobbied for an Official Mothers Day holiday and this notion brought her many supporters.

In 1911, President Woodrow Wilson signed a Joint Resolution designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

It would appear that the idea became popular here in the UK again during World War II when UK soldiers, serving alongside American soldier made note of their custom of celebrating Mothers Day.

So, the modern-day Mother’s Day celebration here in the UK seems to be a mixture of the two. The traditional return to Mother (literally or figuratively) and the acknowledgement of a specific day of celebration for ones own Mother (as per the American Resolution).

Today, Mothering Sunday here in the UK is held on the 4th Sunday (the middle Sunday) of Lent (hence it is also sometimes known as Mid-Lent Sunday) and it is half-way between Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day!) and Good Friday.