Mothering Sunday

English Etymology From the former British custom of visiting en mother church mother churches (q.v.) at Mid-Lent, which by the English Civil War had passed on to servants receiving leave to en go en a-mothering, visiting and providing small gifts to their families. Revived as a national tradition in the early 20th century after the model of Mother's Day in the United States. Proper noun Mothering Sunday en UK The fourth Sunday of Lent, three Sundays before Easter, now especially as a day to honor one's mother. en 1838 William Howitt Rural Life in England 159 ...on Mothering Sunday, when all the ‘servant-lads’ and ‘servant wenches’ are, in some parts of the country, set at liberty for a day, to go and see their mothers... en 1880 Arthur Joseph Munby Dorothy 66 Mary, it's twenty good year—twenty-one, come Mothering Sunday—'Since he was here at the farm. en 1894 March 21 part 1 Mary B. Merrill Mary Mapes Dodge Mothering Sunday St. Nicholas: a monthly magazine for boys and girls http://books.google.com/books?id=EKlNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA388 388 "Mothering Sunday," the fourth Sunday in Lent, when absent sons and daughters—particularly the young apprentices—would return to their homes with some little present for both parents, but more especially for the mother... Imagine the... pride of the mother in the simple gift, and the admiration of the small brothers and sisters who gathered around and longed for the time when they also would be out in the great unknown world and could come "a-mothering." en 2007 Susan Elkin 100 Ideas for Secondary School Assemblies 12 Mothering Sunday is a British, Christian tradition. The Americans celebrate ‘Mother's Day’ later in the year. Synonyms en Mid-Lent, en Mid-Lent Sunday en Mothering Day, en Mother's Day UK & Ireland en Laetare Sunday usual liturgical name in Catholicism & Anglicanism en Simnel Sunday, en Refection Sunday, en Refreshment Sunday dated, in reference to the customary relaxation of Lenten abstention on this day en Rose Sunday, en Sunday of the Five Loaves dated, in reference to Catholic practices on this day en Jerusalem Sunday References Howse, Christopher, "The True Origins of Mothering Sunday", The Telegraph (8 Mar 2013). Mothering Sunday n 122656 2002 Mothering Sunday en Holidays