Mothering Sunday 19

March

was not originally a celebration of motherhood. During the sixteenth century, people returned to their “mother church” for a service on the fourth Sunday of Lent.

Anyone who did this was commonly said to have gone ‘a-mothering’ and was often the only time that whole families could gather together, due to conflicting working hours.

Also known as Simnel Sunday, due to the practice of baking Simnel cakes to celebrate the reuniting of families during the austerity of Lent.

In later times, Mothering Sunday became a day when domestic servants were given a day off to visit their mother and other family members.

Rose Sunday is an alternative title following the tradition of distributing posies to all mothers and latterly all women in the congregation.