 |

Mothers' Day in the UK is not celebrated on the same date as in the USA, as it is yet another of the days linked to the moveable feast of Easter. In 2000, with Easter being celebrated so unusually late in the year, Mothers' Day was held on April 2nd but usually falls in March.
THE ORIGINS OF THE FESTIVAL
The earliest festivals for honouring the mother figure are pre-Christian in origins, relating to the mother-goddess of pagan religion and entwined with the springtime cycle of new life and rebirth. The ancient Greeks celebrated a day in spring to honour the mother of the gods, Rhea, and early Christians held a springtime festival in honour of Mary the mother of Jesus. As the Christian faith spread through Europe, this practice was carried with it and this celebration of the Mother of Christ was gradually extended to the Mother Church and, eventually, to honour all mothers.
Mothering Sunday has been celebrated in Britain on the fourth Sunday in Lent since at least the 16th century. The custom possibly originated in the church festival of "Refreshment Sunday" when everyone was expected to revisit the church in which they were baptised, their "mother church." Many people worked away from home as servants in the homes of the wealthy so had to be given a day off to visit their home church and would naturally also be able to visit their families on this occasion; eventually this became the prime purpose of this annual visit and so "Mothering Sunday" was born.

In the USA Mothers' Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in May, a date fixed in 1914; this date is shared by Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Italy and Turkey.
TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS
Mothers' Day, as Mothering Sunday is now more commonly called, is the day when Mum gets breakfast in bed, however inexpertly prepared by the children, grown-up children visit their mother bearing gifts, and flower-growers and greetings card manufacturers get rich.
......to be continued......
Mothers' Day and other greetings cards have taken on a whole new meaning with the advent of the internet, E-cards and Cyber-Greetings. For a selection of my own creations, click here and send a card from this site's very own E-card service!
HOME | SITE MAP | CALENDAR | RECIPES | GRAPHICS | CRAFT IDEAS | WEBRINGS
|