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Do you celebrate Mothering Sunday or do you celebrate Mother’s Day?

Mother's Day Home Gifts

Each year in the UK we traditionally celebrate Mother’s Day. A time when we celebrate the women in our lives, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, and very special women who may have no connection to us by blood but who are still part of our family. This leads to our question, do you celebrate Mothering Sunday or do you celebrate Mother’s Day?

The History of celebrating our special women

Mothering Sunday and Mother’s Day have morphed into the same day in the UK, but, did you know that they are two very separate occasions that have their own history?

Mothering Sunday

Mothering Sunday is an occasion celebrated by Christians. Back in the sixteenth-century people returned to their main ‘Mother Church’ for a service to be held on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, known as Laetare Sunday. Today the date of Mothering Sunday is still kept as the fourth Sunday which is why there is no set date for Mothering Sunday as there is for Christmas. The date upon which Easter falls is always the first Sunday after the first full moon that follows the spring equinox.

Mothering Sunday became a day where domestic servants were given the day off to visit their Mother/Main church, often attending with their own Mothers and family. It was usually the only time that the families could all gather together due to individual working commitments. It was not the norm to give servants free days off on any other day within the year, hence Mothering Sunday being extra special.
Mother’s Day owes its history to a lady born in the United States called Anna Jarvis. Anna started a movement to introduce Mother’s Day in 1914. Three years after her Mothers death she held a memorial ceremony to honour her mother and all other mothers, at Andrews Methodist Episcopal Church, which marked the first-ever official observance of what is now known as Mother’s Day. Anna Jarvis hadn’t finished there though and embarked upon a campaign to make Mother’s Day an actual recognised holiday in the United States which as we all know succeeded.

Mother’s Day

In the 1920s as fashions changed and the custom of keeping Mothering Sunday had tendered to lapse in areas of Ireland and Europe. Constance Penswick-Smith, from the United Kingdom, was inspired by the works of Anna Jarvis. Constance created the Mothering Sunday movement and wrote a book in 1921 asking for a revival of the festival. The traditions of Mothering Sunday still practised by the Church of England and Church of Ireland were merged with the newly imported traditions in the wider society.

Not wishing to miss an opportunity, UK based merchants saw Mother’s Day as an important commercial opportunity and therefore promoted the occasion relentlessly in the UK. By the 1950s Mother’s Day was celebrated across all the UK and is still massively advertised today. People in the UK and Ireland started celebrating both Mother’s Day and Mothering Sunday on the same day – the fourth Sunday in Lent – which is why the two occasions appear to the same with many people not knowing the different histories behind the two events.

We often like to show our mothers and the special women in our life how important and loved they are by showering them with gifts and cards. From the home-made card and a tiny bunch of flowers, which a child is so very proud to present on Mother’s Day to the most expensive gift money can buy, we enjoy spoiling our mothers on their special day. If like us, you have got to the age where you seem to have given your mother all the traditional gifts and you need a little help thinking of something beautiful and useful, we have found the following gifts which we know our mothers will love.

The question now, which one do you choose?

Is your mother a cheese lover? – Present her favourite cheeses on the stylish heart-shaped slate cheese board. Hand cut in Scotland from high-quality slate, it is not only extremely durable but has versatile functionality and natural contemporary elegance.

Slate Heart Cheese Board

What could be a more beautiful hold all for special gifts your mother wishes to keep than the Lustro Carved Antique Metallic Wooden Box? Ornately hand-carved by skilled Indian artisans from mango wood, this intricate piece has a botanic pattern. Perfect for storing jewellery and/or keepsakes.

Lustro Carved Grey Wash Wooden Box

Add a touch of style to your dessert selection or coffee/tea time with these super sweethearts shaped copper finished serving spoons. As they are beautifully presented in a gift box, these copper heart serving spoons are the perfect gift.

6 Copper Heart SpoonsThe Aspen Large Star Tea Light Lantern is a unique way to display tea lights during any season.

Aspen Large Star Tea Light Lantern

These are just a few suggestions, please see our full range in our home accessories section.

Have a wonderful Mother’s Day / Mothering Sunday!

 

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