As this day fast approaches, I have been thinking about what this day is all about and where the idea even came from.
With a little research I’ve discovered that Mother’s Day and Mothering Sunday used to be treated as two separate celebrations, which have now become one as the year’s have passed.
Mothering Sunday is always on the fourth Sunday of Lent, and was born out of the Faith of that day. Most church goers attended church at their nearest parish, or as known the “daughter Church”. Centuries ago it was felt to be important that once a year, people “returned” to worship at their home church, or “mother Church”, and so, the tradition was born that everyone would travel home to the main church of the area they were brought up in.
This in turn became a day of family celebration, and families would spend time together. Remember this was in a culture where children as young as 10 years old left home to go to be a domestic servant, or apprentice in a wealthy persons home. This Mothering Sunday was possibly one of the few days off that the young servant was given to return home.
Historians believe that it was along the walk home that the children would pick wild flowers to take to the church or to give to their mother.
This day was revived because of a woman called Constance Smith, (1878-1938) when in 1913 she was inspired when she read about a woman in America who had campaigned to have a Mother’s Day recognised as a National day.
Constance reconnected Simnel cakes and other local customs, and actually wrote a booklet under the name C Penswick Smith called The Revival of Mothering Sunday. The popularity of Mothering Sunday grew and by 1938 it was thought that it was celebrated in every Parish in Great Britain.
Mother’s Day is a day celebrated in May in the USA. A woman, called Anna Jarvis due to the loss of her mother, wanted a way to honour the sacrifices mothers made for their children. With financial backing from a Philadelphia department store owner, in May 1908 Anna arranged the first official celebration of Mother’s Day at a Methodist church in West Virginia. After this successful event Anna campaigned to have it recognised as a national holiday, and in 1914 it was proclaimed by Woodrow Wilson as such.
So, from a day to share, two tenacious women, flowers, to all manner of gifts now given, Mother’s around the world are recognised on a special day.
So with mother’s day on it’s way (March 15th for those of us who haven’t thought about it yet), we thought it maybe fun to recall and celebrate some of those crazy things mums across the world say as pearls of wisdom.
Don’t know about you, but I used to think, I’ll never say that to my kids…… I now catch myself saying them regularly! So, having asked, some of our team have come up with their favourites, and we’d love you to tell us yours:
- Always wear clean underwear incase you get run over by a bus!
- If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times.
- If you swallow that gum you’ll end up with a chewing gum tree growing in your stomach.
- Just wait until you have kids of your own, then you’ll understand.
- Money doesn’t grow on trees you know.
- If you break your leg climbing that wall, don’t come running to me.