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Mother's Day/Mothering Sunday

© Linda Campbell

Many countries hold a day to commemorate Mothers, although the dates of such celebrations may vary.

In Britain, the custom of Mothering Sunday dates back to the 16th Century. It is held on the fourth Sunday of Lent, the anniversary of Jesus feeding the five thousand, and the day was originally called Refreshment Sunday. The rules of Lenten fasting were relaxed. This day is also called, in the Catholic Church, Laetare Sunday, after the first words of the Introit at Mass – “Laetare, Jerusalem” meaning “Rejoice, Jerusalem”.

In the 16th century, the Church required that the people returned to their ‘mother’ church or cathedral for that day’s service. The day became known as Mothering Sunday, not through association with mothers, but because of the journey made to the ‘mother’ church.

In an age when children as young as ten left home to take up work or apprenticeships elsewhere, this was often the only day in the whole year when families would be reunited. By the 17th century, it had become a public holiday, when servants and apprentices were given the day off so that they could fulfill their duties to the Church.

They often brought gifts of flowers and a special cake for their mothers. The cake, made of a fine wheaten flower, called simila in Latin, has evolved into the traditional Simnel cake. It is decorated with eleven balls of marzipan, representing the Apostles (excluding Judas). A folk tale has a different explanation for the origin of the name. A man called Simon and his wife, Nell, were arguing over how to make the cake – should it be baked or boiled? They resolved the matter by doing both and the cake is called SIM-NEL after them.

In recent times, Mothering Sunday has become more like the American Mother's Day with offspring expected to give presents and cards to their mothers. The original meaning has been largely lost.

This custom never made its way to America and after the Civil War, a number of women campaigned to instigate a Mother’s Day there. In 1872, Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the ‘Battle Hymn of the Republic’) attempted to instigate a day dedicated to Peace which would be called ‘Mother’s Day’.

An incident in 1877 helped the campaign when Mrs. Juliet Calhoun Blakely took over the service in her local church after the pastor had to leave suddenly. It was her birthday, 11th May, and her adult sons were present. They were impressed by their mother’s performance and promised to return to Albion, Michigan every year to honour their mother. They also campaigned among business associates and friends to join them in setting aside a special day for mothers.

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