Mother's Day or Mothering Sunday
By tradition, Mothering Sunday was a day when children who had gone to work as apprentices and domestic servants were given a day off to visit their mother and family. Today it is a day when we give presents, flowers and home-made cards to our mothers.

The customs have changed and for many people the name has changed too. And the reason why Mothering Sunday became Mother’s Day. At the outset Mothering Sunday and Mother’s Day were two distinct festivals with entirely different beginnings. Mothering Sunday originated in seventeenth-century British culture; Mother’s Day was an American innovation in 1913.

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.

The Epistle for the fourth Sunday in Lent from the Book of Common Prayer gives a special place to the theme of maternal love. Galatians 4:26 states that "Jerusalem which is above is free; which is Mother of us all."

Most historians think that it was this annual Lenten theme that led to the custom of working children being given the day off to visit their family. At that time it was quite normal for children to leave home for work once they reached ten years of age.

As they walked back home along the country lanes on Mothering Sunday, children would pick wild flowers or violets to take to church or give to their mother.

Often they brought a gift with them, a “mothering cake” – a kind of fruitcake with two layers of marzipan, known as simnel cake, a very rich fruit cake. The Lenten fast dictated that the simnel cake had to keep until Easter. It was boiled in water, then baked, and was often finished with an almond icing. Sometimes the crust was of flour and water, coloured with saffron.

Mothering Sunday was also called Refreshment Sunday, because the fasting rules for Lent were relaxed that day. But, by the nineteenth century, the holiday was dying out, and by the 1930s the keeping of many of the old Mothering Sunday customs had lapsed in most English parishes.

On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.

Sometimes furmety was served - wheat grains boiled in sweet milk, sugared and spiced. In northern England and in Scotland, the preferred refreshments were carlings - pancakes made of steeped pease fried in butter, with pepper and salt. In fact, in some locations this day was called Carling Sunday.

Although Mother’s Day is celebrated on different days and for different reasons in many countries around the world, the essence of the day is still the same. It is a chance for us to remind ourselves just how wonderful our mothers are and to thank them for their unconditional love and the work they do. For this reason it has become closely associated with the giving of mother’s day gifts such as bouquets of spring flowers, chocolates or general pampering type gifts and also the sending of greetings cards.

Mother's Day Message Book
Here in the Lyneham's Village website, we would like to show a little appreciation to a Mum in a Million, by allowing us the chance to express our love to you. Why not leave a message for your special Mum. We have compiled an online message book so you can enter your loving messages to your mother. more...