Mothering Sunday

Originally Mothering Sunday was a c16th religious event here that had nothing to do with mothers at all. The word "mothering" referred to the "mother church", which is to say the main church or cathedral of the region. It became a tradition that on the fourth Sunday of Lent people would return to their mother church for a special service. This pilgrimage was apparently known as "going a-mothering", and it became something of a holiday event. Domestic servants were traditionally given the day off work to visit their families and attend a service at their mother church. Walking home they would often pick bunches of wild flowers from the hedgerows and woods to give to their mothers and to decorate the church.

 courtesy PigeonParkPress

Ann Jarvis is recognised as the mother who inspired Mother’s Day in the United States, she was a social activist and community organiser during the Amercian Civil War era. It was her daughter, Anna, who compaigned for a Mother's Day to be held during May in memory of her mother, and it was President Wilson who formalised the date to be the second Sunday in May. 
Today is Mothering Sunday here, which also means that Easter is now only three weeks away.

  Whoever you are and wherever you are enjoy a lovely day. 

Happy Easter

 

During Easter, whilst many of us will be spending time with family or friends, I am conscious of those who have lost or have severely injured family members in the brutal Brussels attacks, so many lives which will never be the same again