The History of Mother’s Day & Mothering Sunday: How Traditions Have Evolved

Mother’s Day, or Mothering Sunday, has a long and fascinating history in the UK. Long before store-bought bouquets, teddy bears, and chocolate boxes became the norm, people were picking flowers, baking cakes, and, for many, heading to church.

Ancient traditions around the world often find their roots in Mother goddesses, and even Christianity has found space for the mother figure in the Virgin Mary. It is from her worship in Mediaeval Christianity that our modern Mother’s Day descends.

In Mediaeval Britain and Ireland, there was a tradition that, in honour of Mary, on the fourth Sunday of Lent (three weeks before Easter), people would visit their ‘Mother Church’. This Sunday came to be known as Mothering Sunday because of this tradition.

On their way to church for Mothering Sunday, children would gather wildflowers and these would be collected in church for each child to give some to their own mother. By the 16th Century (1500s), this tradition was widely spread out, and the church meaning had begun to connect with the meaning for individual families. 

At this point in Lent, halfway through, the fast was allowed to be ‘eased’ for a day, so Mothering Sunday became a day when some richer food was allowed. In church, you might hear a sermon centred on giving and receiving food, and then you were allowed to eat something a bit special that day. 

Some sources tell that children would wake their mothers up to the smell of freshly-baked bread, treating her both with the food and with a break from her usual chore as they took over the baking. Other food traditionally eaten on Mothering Sunday includes fig pies and Simnel cake, a type of fruit cake sandwiched in marzipan. For extra religion points, the Simnel cake was usually topped with eleven marzipan balls - one for each of the disciples except for Judas. Nowadays, this cake is more associated with Easter itself, but it started as a Mothering Sunday tradition. 

Despite its strong roots, the tradition of Mothering Sunday began to dwindle by the early 20th century. The societal changes following the Industrial Revolution, shifts in religious practices, and the overall decline of certain church traditions contributed to its fading presence.

By the mid-1930s, Mothering Sunday was largely forgotten in Britain, replaced by more secular and modern ways of life. However, its revival was just around the corner – thanks in part to an American movement that transformed the way the world celebrated mothers.

In the US, a woman called Anna Jarvis, having recently lost her mother, was looking for a way to keep the good work they had been doing together in public health going. Her mother, Ann Reeves Jarvis, had nursed soldiers during the American Civil War, and established ‘Mother’s Day Work Clubs’, helping to combat high infant and child mortality rates. Ann Jarvis spent her life teaching mothers about hygiene, sanitation and medicine, in the late 19th Century when the information was not readily available. She had lost nine of her own thirteen children in childhood. 

Believing that your mother was ‘the person who had done the most for you’, Anna Jarvis shared her mother’s opinion that there should be a day to celebrate the work mothers did. Unlike Ann, who envisioned a ‘memorial mothers’ day’, Anna dedicated her day to ‘the best mother who ever lived - your mother’, which is why today it is Mother’s Day - where the apostrophe is highlights each individual mother. Three years after her mother’s death, Anna Jarvis set up and celebrated the first Mother’s Day. She chose the second Sunday in May to be close to the date Ann Jarvis had died on.

The day became immensely popular very quickly - it was signed in as a national holiday by then-president Woodrow Wilson in 1914. However, by 1920, Anna herself was dismayed at the turn her day had taken. Part of the reason it had got so big so quickly was the involvement of the floral, confectionary and greetings cards industries. Branding it a ‘Hallmark Holiday’, she found it too commercialised and regretted starting it until her death in 1948.

However, the success of the American holiday did not slow. In 1920, Nottinghamshire woman Constance Penswick Smith was so concerned that the new American holiday would displace the Christian Mothering Sunday that she began a movement to revive the floundering traditions here in the UK. This, coupled with the import of US commercial success - partially fuelled by the American soldiers stationed here during the Second World War - greatly helped the revival of the British Mothering Sunday... and explains why we now use that original name and Mother’s Day interchangeably.

We are not the only country to have been influenced by the US Mother’s Day, or to have a different day of our own. There are plenty of traditions celebrating mothers around the world - here are just a few examples:

• Ethiopia: In Ethiopia, mothers are celebrated during Antrosht, a three-day festival at the end of the rainy season (usually October or November). The celebration involves food, singing and dancing.
• Japan: Mother’s Day in Japan was originally celebrated on 6th March, the birthday of Empress Kojun, but changed to the same as the US in 1949. At this time, it was a day for comforting those who had lost sons in the war, and carnations were traditionally given as gifts.
• Mexico: Dia de las Madres (translating to ‘day of the mothers’) is celebrated in Mexico on 10th May, and it’s a day to take your mum out to restaurants where she’ll be serenaded by mariachi bands, as well as giving her gifts, handmade cards and making her breakfast.

Today, Mother’s Day in the UK is a mix of old traditions and modern commercial influences. While many people still enjoy homemade treats or handpicked flowers, shop-bought gifts, restaurant meals, and spa days have become increasingly common.

However, whether you’re celebrating with a heartfelt gesture or a thoughtful present, the core message remains the same – to show appreciation for the mothers and mother figures who have supported and nurtured us.

So, however you’re spending Mothering Sunday (or Mother’s Day) this year, we hope it’s filled with love, appreciation, and maybe a little relaxation for mum! And if you’re looking for the perfect gift, check out our Mother's Day collection here.