The Story of Mother's Day

The Story of Mother's Day

Mothering Sunday is celebrated in the UK on the 4th Sunday of Lent

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honour of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods.

During the 1600s, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter), "Mothering Sunday" honoured the mothers of England.

Many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were situated far from their homes, the poor servants had to live with their employers. On Mothering Sunday, they were given the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the "Mothering Cake", was often brought along to provide a festive touch.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honour the "Mother Church", the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration. People began honouring their mothers as well as the church.

In the United States, Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Howe would hold organised Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Massachusetts ever year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year, Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Anna Jarvis and her supporters successfully wrote to ministers, businessmen, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. By 1911, Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, officially proclaimed Mother's Day as a national holiday to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

Whilst many countries celebrate their own Mother's Day at different times throughout the year, there are some countries such as Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium which also celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May.

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