Mothering Sunday in England

The Winter is Past

Easter, the feast of the Christian Church commemorating the Resurrection of Christ, is derived from Easter, a goddess of spring honoured by the pagan Anglo-Saxons in the month of April.

When Christianity was introduced into England it was natural for the name of the heathen festival to be transferred to the Christian, the two falling about the same time.

Easter has been from ancient times the most important feast in the Christian year. Many popular customs, which probably go back to pagan times, are also associated with it throughout Europe, for example the giving of Easter eggs. Eggs are a symbol of life and fertility or recreation of spring. It was not, however, until the nineteenth century that the practice of presenting eggs of Easter was introduced into England.

The 8th of March is Mid-Lent Sunday, or Mothering Sunday. It is claimed that the name Mothering Sunday came from the ancient custom of visiting the "mother church" at this time; but to schoolchildren it always meant a holiday, when they went home to spend the day with their mother or parents. At one time in Britain, especially in Lancashire, it was the custom to eat simnel cakes on this day. The word simnel is derived from a Latin word meaning fine bread. Mothering Sunday is not the same as Mother's Day. The latter is an American festival celebrated on the second Sunday in May as an occasion for each person to remember his mother by some act of grateful affection.

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