Typical Mothering Sunday Family Celebrations in the UK
Mothering Sunday, (celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent) in the UK is probably much the same as in any other part of the world. It is a day to celebrate Mum and everything she does.
Probably the most traditional part of Mothering Sunday for the UK is the gifting of flowers and chocolates. There can be very few British mums who haven't received one or both of these gifts on Mothering Sunday. Are they fed up with the same old gifts, traditional or not? For many, yes, but the gifts are still accepted in the way of Mothers everywhere; with a smile, a hug, a kiss and the hope of something different next year!
The focus is very much on mothers. Gifts are given mainly to mums, by which it is meant that a grandchild will not usually give a gift to a grandmother on Mothering Sunday. A daughter will give to her mum, but not to her grandmother. One generation giving to the one before is pretty much the norm.
Perhaps it is simply the fact that mothers are usually the biggest part of a child's life which causes Mothering Sunday to be a much bigger occasion than the male equivalent, Father's Day (celebrated in June) which tends to be celebrated with far less verve. Mothering Sunday is very much a time when family will make an effort to get home to be with Mum, no matter how far flung the children may be. Gifts and visits to Mum are as expected as, for example, eggs being given at Easter.
On which subject, there is a largely forgotten origin to Mothering Sunday (the fuller details of which can be foundhere). Although no-one is completely sure how Mothering Sunday got its name the day has been celebrated from the 16th century onward. It has been known by other names, such as Pudding Sunday, but was inextricably linked to Lent, a religious idea.
The idea of 'Mother Church' may well have started the name of Mothering Sunday, mainly because people who visited mother church were said to have gone 'a mothering'. Another possibility is that the Roman goddess, Cybele, known as the mother Goddess, gave her name, from the Spring Festival. However the name came to be, Mothering Sunday it became and has remained.
Another origin point for the gifting tradition may have come from young girls who were working 'in service', often far away from home and their mothers. They were usually allowed only one day per year in which to visit home, and they were often sent back with flowers from the house gardens or even a cake from the kitchens. The yearly visit was often timed around Lent and consequently Mothering Sunday.
However the UK celebrates mothering Sunday, we can be sure that they join millions of others around the world in making mums feel magnificent every single year.
