Mother's Day History

Mothering Sunday was celebrated in Britain beginning in the 17th century

• it was honored on the fourth Sunday in Lent

• it began as a day when apprentices and servants could return home for the day to visit their mothers

• they often brought a gift with them, often a "mothering cake" -- a kind of fruitcake or fruit-filled pastry known as simnels.

• furmety, a sweetened boiled cereal dish, was often served at the family dinner during Mothering Sunday celebrations

• by the 19th century, the holiday had almost completely died out

• Mother's Day in Britain -- or Mothering Sunday -- came to be celebrated again after World War II, when American servicemen brought the custom and commercial enterprises used it as an occasion for sales, etc.

Mother's Day: What You Need to Know

• Ancient Celebrations of Mothers and Motherhood
• Mothering Sunday in Britain
• Mothers' Work Days
• Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day
• Anna Jarvis and Mother's Day
• Carnations, Anna Jarvis, and Mother's Day
• International Mother's Days Today
• Mother's Day Statistics
• Mother's Day Proclamations
• Famous Mothers
• Quotes on Mothers and Motherhood
• Ideas for Mother's Day (in the spirit of the originals)
• Motherhood in History
• Mother's Day - Index

Text copyright 1999-2005 © Jone Johnson Lewis