I was treated to a very lovely bouquet this morning. It is Mothering Sunday here in England, always the 4th Sunday of Lent, in celebration of mothers. Many churches here will have prepared little posies for children to hand to their mothers during the service.
I read a little about this day, not to be confused with Mothers Day generally celebrated in the US in May, I think.
It began around 400 years ago at a time when servants in the 'big house' were given a day off to visit their Mother church. This might be the Cathedral in a town or a local village church where the family had worshipped for many years.
It was to be a day of Refreshment, once even known as Refreshment Sunday and also Simnel Sunday.
Often it was the day when a Simnel Cake was baked to celebrate the reuniting of families during the somewhat austere time of Lent.
The cakes might be given to the servants to take home to their mother.
Servants would not have had time off automatically and might not have seen their family for many weeks or months.
I don't remember any mention of Mothering Sunday in Downton Abbey!
Now it has become a very commercial day, which is a bit sad, with shouts from the media to 'buy a gift to tell your mum she's the best in the world'.
I read an interesting article in the Telegraph by a mother who was fed up with the hype and wished that her children would come to see her whenever, rather than feeling pressurised by a day called Mothering Sunday.
For those of us whose mothers have passed on, it is a slightly bittersweet day of remembering, and wishing for just one more time to carry a little posy of flowers.
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My husband dipped into the basket of names and picked out a winner of the little Easter bag.
It's Marleen!
Marleen please send me your address
and I will mail as soon as I have it.
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My husband dipped into the basket of names and picked out a winner of the little Easter bag.
It's Marleen!
Marleen please send me your address
and I will mail as soon as I have it.
20 comments:
What a very nice tradition! It does sound a bit like Mother's Day here in the U.S. I like the original day of given the servants a day to visit their church and family. Have a blessed Mothering Day.
Thank you for the history of Mothering Sunday.
Happy Mothering Sunday to YOU!
What beautiful flowers to enjoy! I loved the history of Mothering Sunday...thank you for sharing. I hope you enjoyed the day :)
Congratulations, Marleen! Elizabeth, those flowers are lovely!
We are always given sprigs of Rosemary in church on Mothering Sunday. If there are any over usually take one each for my daughters as they are mothers as well.
Diana
Happy Mothers Day to you too
I got to speak to my children back in the UK...Im so grateful for Skype
Enjoy your day
Phoebe x
Thanks so much for coming by...and Happy Mothering Day....xo
I'm glad you had a nice Mothering Sunday. The bouquet is beautiful. When we were staying near York once, the owner of the B&B brought me a bouquet of daffodils on Mothering Sunday. It was a total surprise to me, being from the U.S. And what a lovely and much appreciated gesture it was! My experience with the British is that you all are so nice!
Beautiful flowers! Thanks for the history of 'Mothering Sunday'. I don't remember anything about that in Downton Abbey either.:-)
I agree, it's sad how the media can ruin a lot of holidays and turn them into such a commercial day. Happy Mothering Sunday to you, and I hope you had a wonderful day! X
The history of Mothering Sunday is new to me. Your flowers are lovely. Here, I find that there are so many expectations put on Mother's Day that it has quite lost its simple intent, to honour and show love to mothers.
I hope your day was a wonderful start to a wonderful week.
That's interesting, I didn't know the origins of Mothering Sunday. The church I used to attend took a vote at a general meeting to stop bringing flowers for children to give in church as some who had lost their mothers felt sad. I felt it was more sad to stop such a lovely tradition although of course there are many ways to show a mum you love her. Just imagine in the days of Downton Abbey how very little servants saw of their families, every moment together must have been so precious they probably didn't need a special day to remind them!
I always love when you mention the history behind these things. Happy Mothering Day to you! The flowers are beautiful.
It's always so nice to read about traditions and holidays in other places. Thank you for leaving a comment on the blog, I had your old blog on my feed but I didn't realize you started a new one! On the feed it goes so I get every post :)
That was a very interesting explanation of the origins of your Mothering Sunday. It sounds like it has, like our Mothers' Day, become somewhat of a hyped-up event. I agree with the lady who wrote in the Telegraph!
Thanks for sharing Mothering Sunday. I've never heard of it. We have a Mother's Day in the US in May which sounds similar. I, too, have lost my Mom.
My sweet friend, what a beautiful bouquet of flowers! I thoroughly enjoyed learning the history of "Mothering Sunday" and I'm so glad you shared it with Roses of Inspiration. Hugs to you!
Beautiful bouquet, I always thought your day was like our Mother's day here in the states, neat to hear the meaning behind it.
Thank you so much for explaining the tradition sweet lady :-) I always wondered as to the why it was different from here in the US. So good to read your words again :-)
I do like the history of your Mothering Day. Too bad it's become another excuse for commercialism. As far as I know, Mother's Day in the U.S. has always been for commercial purposes.
I do like the history of your Mothering Day. Too bad it's become another excuse for commercialism. As far as I know, Mother's Day in the U.S. has always been for commercial purposes.
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