Mothering Sunday

For the British drama film, see Mothering Sunday (film). For the 2016 novel by Graham Swift, see Mothering Sunday (novel).
For the secular observation of the holiday, see Mother's Day.
Mothering Sunday
ObservancesVisiting the local mother church or the church in which one was baptised; honouring one's mother[1]
Date4th Sunday in Lent
2023 date19 March
2024 date10 March
2025 date30 March
2026 date15 March
FrequencyAnnual
Related toLaetare Sunday, Lent

Mothering Sunday is a day honouring mother churches,[1] the church where one is baptised and becomes "a child of the church", celebrated since the Middle Ages[2] in the United Kingdom, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries on the fourth Sunday in Lent. On Mothering Sunday, Christians have historically visited their mother church—the church in which they received the sacrament of baptism.[1][3]

Constance Adelaide Smith revived its modern observance beginning in 1913 to honour Mother Church, 'mothers of earthly homes', the Virgin Mary (mother of Jesus), and Mother Nature.[4] It gained popularity in response to the originally American Mother's Day.[5] The holiday is often known as "Mother's Day" in the United Kingdom, and has become a secular celebration of mothers and motherhood.

  1. ^ a b c Diller, Harriett (1990). Celebrations That Matter: A Year-Round Guide to Making Holidays Meaningful. Augsburg. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-8066-2498-3. In England, Mothering Sunday is a day to honor both your mother church and your own mother. In the past, young people working away from home visited their mothers and the churches where they were baptized on Mothering Sunday.
  2. ^ Smith, Constance Penswick (1926). A short history of Mothering Sunday (mid-Lent) (3 ed.). Nottingham.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Pearson, Sharon Ely; Szoke, Robyn (2009). The Prayer Book Guide to Christian Education, Third Edition. Church Publishing. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-8192-2337-1. Mothering Sunday—In England children away from home at school or work were permitetd to go home to visit their mothers and/or to visit their cathedral or mother church on this fourth Sunday of Lent. Today, many cathedrals and "mother" churches invite all who had been baptized there to return "home" to worship.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Smith1921 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Moyse, Cordelia (4 October 2012). "Smith, Constance Adelaide [pseud. C. Penswick Smith]". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/103415. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)