Mother’s Day is this Sunday in the UK

What is Mother’s Day?

Mother’s Day is celebrated all over the world on different days throughout the year, depending on the country. Across the world, it is mainly celebrated throughout March, April and May. Mother’s Day as it is known today was first celebrated in America. In some countries it is linked to older religious traditions.  However, in America it’s a more commercial holiday. On Mother’s Day, it is common for each person to give a gift to their mother to show appreciation for everything they do.

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Religious Links/Traditions of Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is linked to different religious and historical events as it is adopted by more countries. Celebrations of Mother’s Day can vary a lot from country to country. In the UK, historians believe that Mother’s Day was originally where everybody, especially young people or children who were working as servants, was given the day off to visit family or their ‘mother’ church. Many mothers would be reunited with their children. Everyone came together which resulted in it being known as ‘Mothering Sunday’.

Mother’s Day in the USA

Mother’s Day in America is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. The holiday as it is today was first initiated by Anna Jarvis in 1908. Her mother’s dream was to have a holiday that celebrated mothers for their hard work. The idea didn’t take off at first. She then enlisted the help of a wealthy merchant and heavily promoted the idea. President Woodrow Wilson made the holiday official in 1914.

Mother’s Day became incredibly successful.  However, along with this came the highly commercialised side of it, which Anna Jarvis hated. When she died in 1948 she regretted starting up the holiday.

Mother’s Day is now one of the biggest celebrated holidays in the USA. Sales of flowers and greetings cards really benefit from the holiday and without their support for the holiday over the years it is quite possible that Mother’s Day may not be what it is today.

Mother’s Day in the UK

Unlike many European countries, where it’s celebrated on the second Sunday of May, Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom is always celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Traditionally, it was never related to the American celebration. Churches still celebrate it as the original religious celebration. However, due to globalisation and commercialism, much of the religious aspect has now been forgotten.

US soldiers who came over to the UK for World War II brought with them their own traditions of Mother’s Day, and it became merged with the more Christian holiday of Mothering Sunday. Many people are not aware that the two holidays used to be separate. Like in America, florists and greetings cards companies enjoy a higher demand during this holiday. Many families see it as a day to do something together.  Many go out for the day or to restaurants in the evening.

Mother’s Day Around the World

The American version of Mother’s Day has been widely adopted in many other countries; they have just changed the date of it to suit their calendar. This means it is not always celebrated on the second Sunday in May, but it is essentially the same holiday.

Remember to thank your mum this Mother’s Day, for everything that she has done for you! If you are far away from your mum, do remember to give her a call. Pocketdial UK can help you to reduce the cost of your internatinal calls.

What are your plans for Mother’s Day this year? Please share in the comments below!