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Saturday 30 March 2019

Mother’s Day 2019 : What are the origins of Mothering Sunday?

"The origins of Mothering Sunday in the UK lie in the Middle Ages but the modern celebration owes much to the US-created Mother's Day holiday.

Every year, Mother’s Day gives us the chance to celebrate our mothers – but the changing date means there’s a distinct possibility that you can get caught out. Here’s when Mothering Sunday falls in 2019, the origins of the occasion and why it’s celebrated at different times around the globe.

When is Mother’s Day 2019?
This year Mother’s Day falls on Sunday 31 March in the UK, with the date set by the celebration’s Christian foundations as Mothering Sunday. It always takes place on the fourth Sunday in the festival of Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday. The origins lie in the Middle Ages, when children who had left their families to work in domestic service were allowed to go to their home – or “mother” – church. So initially, the “mothering” aspect of the occasion had no connection to the way mothers are celebrated today. However, the journey home inevitably became an occasion for families to reunite, with the custom developing for children to pick flowers en-route to give as a gift to their mothers.

The date took on a further celebratory air because it was traditionally an occasion for the fasting rules of Lent to be relaxed, allowing revellers a long-awaited feast. Consequently, it also became known as Refreshment Sunday, Simnel Sunday (after the Simnel cakes traditionally baked in celebration) and, most evocatively of all (and only in Surrey): Pudding Pie Sunday.


How did ‘Mothering Sunday’ become ‘Mother’s Day’? 
Today, most people know the occasion as “Mother’s Day” rather than the traditional “Mothering Sunday”. This owes much to the American festival of Mother’s Day, which is held later in the year and has no religious connotations.

It was created in 1907 by Anna Jarvis, who held a memorial for her mother Ann Jarvis, a peace activist who treated wounded soldiers in the American Civil War. Her daughter campaigned for a day to honour the role played by mothers following Ann’s death, and the idea gained such traction that by 1911 all US states observed the holiday. In 1914, it had become so ubiquitous that President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day a national holiday “as a public expression of love and reverence for the mothers of our country”. Mother’s Day rapidly became a major commercial opportunity, with Hallmark leading the way in manufacturing cards by the early 1920s.

Jarvis deeply resented the materialistic side of the holiday that she had created. The commodification of sentimental symbols like the white carnation led her to withering criticism and even to being arrested for protesting against organisations selling Mother’s Day merchandise. While Mothering Sunday is technically a different celebration to Mother’s Day, the success of the US holiday led to a resurgence in the traditional observance after interest had waned in the early 20th century. By the 1950s, the practices of the Christian festival had broadly merged with the commercial aspects of Mother’s Day, with the moniker gradually overtaking Mothering Sunday and the celebration becoming increasingly secular.

What date is Mother’s Day around the world?
Mother’s Day is now observed around the world, with the majority of countries taking their lead from the US practice of celebrating it on the second Sunday of May. In 2019, this falls on 12 May, with almost 100 countries – including much of Europe, Africa and South America – following the American system. Far fewer commemorate the fourth Sunday of Lent, although Nigeria joins the UK and Ireland in marking Mothering Sunday. Other countries, including Russia, Vietnam and Afghanistan, commemorate mothers on International Women’s Day: 8 March. Bolivia marks Mother’s Day on 27 May, the date of the Battle of La Coronilla, when women fighting for the country’s independence were slaughtered by the Spanish army in 1812. Elsewhere, France – and many of its former colonies – celebrate mothers on the last Sunday of May, while Argentina marks “Dia de la Madre” on the third Sunday of October."

The above words from an article by David Hughes here



these two photographs bring happy memories
a walk around a garden centre with Grandson and Grand-daughter


I'm looking forward to seeing family,
I have a nice lemon cake ready,
and the kettle will be on for a cuppa!

If you should be celebrating Mother's Day, have an especially nice day

Forever in my heart
Forever in my thoughts
Forever in my life
My mum is always with me
Thank you Mum
I'll always love you

All the best Jan

34 comments:

Tom said...

...Happy Mother's Day, ours is in May.

My name is Erika. said...

Happy Mothering Sunday to you. This was a fascinating article to read. I didn't know any of this. Lemon cake and a cuppa sound good to me too. Hope your day is fantastic. Hugs and happy weekend-Erika

Anonymous said...

Happy Mother's Day. Interesting to read and I liked the photographs. Lemon cake and a cuppa sounds good.

Tina

Anonymous said...

Such a beautiful tribute to our mums, Mother's Day falls on a different day here in Canada, but as you I hold my mum dear to my heart. I have missed you, I've come back to blogging with a fresh start new blog, new beginnings , I hope you visit me there, my profile photo will bring you there

CJ Kennedy said...

Happy Mother's Day! Have a slice of lemon cake and a cuppa for me (-:

Valerie-Jael said...

Interesting article, enjoy your lemon cake. Valerie

Iris Flavia said...

Happy Mother's Day, I miss mine so very much!

DUTA said...

Your photos with your grands are lovely! Please, bring some more of them!

mxtodis123 said...

Happy Mother's Day. Enjoyed this article a lot. thank you.

DMS said...

I had no idea about the origins of the holiday. We celebrate Mother's Day in May here.

Hope your day is wonderful. :)
~Jess

Out on the prairie said...

Happy Mothers Sunday!, I always use it here as a good time to start planting more in the garden

Beca said...

Interesting article. Happy and blessed Mothers Day Jan! :) ♥
xx Beca

only slightly confused said...

Can only remember mine....same with the hubs.

Elephant's Child said...

I like the idea of celebrating on International Women's Day.

William Kendall said...

Quite a history!

betty-NZ said...

What a great post about Mother's Day. Thanks for the information and thanks for stopping by my blog!

Martha said...

Oh, what a sweet post and what lovely images! Happy Mother's Day. We'll be celebrating in May.

Miss Val's Creations said...

Happy Mother's Day Jan! The photos with the grandkids are adorable. I never realized the history on the holiday. Very informative!

Lady Caer Morganna said...

Happy Mother's Day, Jan! I really enjoyed this article and love reading about the history of the holidays we celebrate. Loved the wonderful photos, too - Thank you so much for sharing with us!

mamasmercantile said...

Lemon cake and tea sound good. It is carrot cake and tea here today. Have a wonderful day.

Teresa said...

Feliz día de la madre. En España se celebra el primer domingo de mayo. Besitos.

Iris Flavia said...

Happy Mother's Day to you. I sure miss mine...

Carol Blackburn said...

Happy Mother's Day! I never gave it much thought about other countries celebrating the day until now. It's not something my children were taught to celebrate for me, just their Grandmothers. I can't say I've missed the attention I never got. Just as well, as neither of them have had anything to do with me for years and they didn't teach their children to either.

Crafty Green Poet said...

that's very interesting, I didn't realise about the traditional relaxation of Lenten fasting on Mothering Sunday

It's me said...

Happy mother’s day love Ria 💕

Jeanie said...

This is fascinating, Jan. I didn't know anything about this holiday's origins, and only recently that the dates varied from country to country. Ours is in May. I rather like the idea of it being earlier because at this time we need a special occasion holiday to bridge the season till Easter and spring! Of course, we can make our own celebration anytime, still... (Although May is nice, too -- weather is usually good.)

Thanks for this one!

sandy said...

i like these two pics a lot - sweet ...gramma and kids.

Kezzie said...

I didn't know the origins so I was fascinated to read this post! I was, as you mentioned, caught out by it! I thought it was next week! I gave my mum a box of biscuits yesterday but not a card just because I wanted to give her a nice gift! When I realised earlier, I was cross with myyself! Lovely picture of you and your Grand children!!


Debbie said...

what a sweet post and lovely pictures of you and the grandchildren!!!

Phil Slade said...

I hope you enjoyed your day as much as Sue did. It was lovely to see all the family together to wish her a happy day. Have a great day Jan.

Conniecrafter said...

Great pics of you with your grandchildren. Neat to hear the history behind Mother's days around the world.

carol l mckenna said...

Lovely informative post ~ on Mother's Day ~ thanks ^_^

Happy Days to you,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Snowbird said...

Ahhh, what a lovely post. I did enjoy it and it is always a pleasure seeing your grandkids, what angels they are.xxx

Magic Love Crow said...

I really love this article! I hope you had a great Mother's Day! Big Hugs!