Mother's Day is celebrated each year in the UK on the fourth Sunday of Lent. A day dedicated to expressing love and gratitude to mothers, and acknowledging the sacrifices women make for their children.
The festival of Mother's Day is distinct from the Christian festival of Mothering Sunday, which has been celebrated in churches in the UK from the 17th century onwards. During this festival, families would visit the church in which they were baptised, or their ‘Mother Church’. As this is traditionally a religious festival, it's celebrated on a Sunday rather than a Bank Holiday. This is different from other countries, which mark Mother's Day at a set date in March or May.
The idea started in America when a woman called Anna Jarvis held a small memorial service for her own mother on 12 May 1907. Soon after, most places in America were observing the day and in 1914, the US president made it a national holiday, celebrated on the second Sunday of May.
As Mothering Sunday in the UK became less popular during the early 20th century, the commercially vibrant Mother’s Day was adopted and an opportunity was recognised by merchants, paving the way for today’s traditions of greetings cards and gift giving. This year in the UK, Mothering Sunday will be celebrated on Sunday 27th March.
Why not take a look at our Mother's Day blog from last year, and learn about why the Daffodil is associated with Mother's Day here in the UK:
