Everything You Need To Know About Mother’s Day

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When do we celebrate Mother’s Day?

Mothering Sunday as it is traditionally known always falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent in the Christian calendar. It is always exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday and usually occurs at the end of March or beginning of April.

Mothering Sunday or Mother’s Day as it’s now more commonly known is a time when we celebrate our mothers. It also celebrates the bond we hold with them. Traditionally flowers, gifts and cards were exchanged not just with our mother but also other maternal figures including stepmothers, mothers-in-law and grandmothers.

When did we begin to celebrate Mother’s Day?

For one reason or another this day has long been associated with celebrating our mothers. The tradition was that on this day you would return home to visit your mother. This was called ‘a-mothering’.

With siblings often flying the nest and living in different parts of the country even more so today Mother’s Day has become the chance to hold a family reunion back at home.

Anna Jarvis was the lady who founded Mother’s Day in the United States. She campaigned for an official day where mothers would be honoured. In the US she is regarded as the ‘Mother of Mother’s Day’.

Anna Jarvis was very against the commercialism of the day. She disagreed with the profit making wanting it to more about sentiment than money. She was against the selling of flowers and regarded the giving of cards as a poor excuse. Her belief was that you could put pen to paper with your own words in the form of a letter.

Mother’s Day Around the World

Mother’s Day is not something that was adopted worldwide over night but a celebration that was adopted gradually.

1920 – Smith of Nottingham founded the Mothering Sunday Movement. She even wrote a booklet entitled The Revival of Mothering Sunday. She like Jarvis never became mother’s themselves but believed strongly in the campaign.

1932 – After 19 years of observance by Christians the Japanese adopted the day showing the wide reach of Jarvis’ campaign and the love for Mother’s Day internationally.

1950’s – by the 1950’s Mother’s Day was being celebrated throughout Britain and across the world with business realising quickly the commercial opportunities of the occasion.

Mothering Sunday or Mother’s Day?

As Mothering Sunday was initially a Christian event it always fell on the fourth Sunday of Lent and still does today. This was not the way for the rest of the world.

Mother’s Day is the American version and falls every year in early May. Many blame America for making this such a commercial affair.

The French have a completely different time to the American’s and the British, celebrating ‘Maman’s’ Day every year on the last Sunday in May. Mother’s are usually celebrated with a family meal and mum is presented with a cake that looks like a bouquet of flowers.

Mother’s Day in Spain is different again and is celebrated on December 8th. Spaniards pay tribute not only to their own mothers on this day, but also to the Virgin Mary. The day includes religious celebrations across the country.