Mothering Sunday also known as Mother’s Day is a day set aside to honor mothers for their contribution to family and society. Though not a Federal holiday, It is usually observed the second Sunday in May. In some locations/religions, it is held on the fourth Sunday of Lent. That is, three weeks before Easter Sunday and usually falls in the second half of March or early April.
Historically, Mother’s Day originated from mainly two women, Julia Ward Howe and Anna Jarvis. Julia Ward sponsored Mother’s Day each year in Boston around 1870 to promote pacifism and disarmament with women. It lasted about 10 years. Anna Jarvis organized the first Mother’s Day in Grafton, West Virginia at St. Andrew’s Methodist Church in 1908.
The day is celebrated in different ways in different countries. In Canada, people celebrate Mother’s Day by showing their appreciation for mothers or mother figures. The Mother’s Day date in Canada is on the second Sunday of May each year. Mother figures may include step-mothers, mothers-in-law, guardians (eg. foster parents), and family friends. It is the time for people to thank mothers and mother figures who took the time care for them and help them through life’s challenges.
In the UK and Ireland, Mothering Sunday is always held on the fourth Sunday of Lent (6th March for year 2016). Over there, it is a celebration of mothers and the maternal bond, and traditionally children give flowers, presents and cards to their mothers, and other maternal figures such as grandmothers, stepmothers and mothers-in-law.
When did Mothering Sunday begin?
The day has long been associated with mothers, and family. For centuries it was custom for people to return home to their ‘mother’ church on Laetare Sunday – the middle of Lent. Those who did so were said to have gone ‘a-mothering’.
The day often turned into a family reunion and a chance for children working away from home – often domestic servants – to spend time with their mothers.
But it was American social activist Anna Jarvis (1864-1948) from Philadelphia who campaigned for an official day to honour mothers in the US and is regarded as the “Mother of Mother’s Day”.
She dedicated her life to lobbying for the day after swearing she would do so after her mother’s death.
However, Jarvis became increasingly concerned at the commercialisation of the day, saying “I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit.” She also didn’t like the selling of flowers and the use of greetings cards which she described as “a poor excuse for the letter you are too lazy to write”.
In May 1932, Mother’s Day was adopted in Japan, after 19 years of observance by Christians, showing the wide reach of Jarvis and the embracement of Mother’s Day internationally.
Meanwhile in Britain, vicar’s daughter Constance Smith was inspired by a 1913 newspaper report of Jarvis’ campaign and began a push for the day to be officially marked in England.
Smith, of Coddington, Nottinghamshire, founded the Mothering Sunday Movement and even wrote a booklet The Revival of Mothering Sunday in 1920. Neither Smith nor Jarvis became mother’s themselves.
By 1938 Mothering Sunday had become a popular celebration with Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and various parishes across Britain marking the day and communities adopting the imported traditions of American and Canadian soldiers during the war.
By the 1950s it was being celebrated throughout Britain and businesses realised the commercial opportunities.
Is it Mothering Sunday or Mother’s Day?
Many blame the USA for introducing the name Mother’s Day to Britain and turning it into a commercial affair.
