In the UK Mother’s Day has been and gone, however in the United States Mother’s Day is always held on the second Sunday in May. This date was formalised by President Wilson in 1914, whereas in the UK the holiday is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent every year.
We wrote about the history of Mother’s day back in March (https://twile.com/blog/2016/03/things-you-didnt-know-about-mothers-day/). The celebration began in the US and traces it’s roots to the creation of mother’s groups, consisting of women whose sons fought in the Civil War.
Over the years Mother’s Day has become more and more commercial, with the National Retail Federation estimating that this year Americans will spend an average of $172.63 on their mothers, an increase of $10 since 2014 and the highest amount in 12 years.
For the UK, it is, of course, important to appreciate that so-called Mothers’ Day was originally Mothering Sunday; a day when children away from home (perhaps in domestic service) were allowed to travel home to visit their mother.
Hi. Re our UK Mothers Day I understood it is technically known as Mothering Sunday over here and was actually the half day in the year on the fourth Sunday in Lent when maid servants were expected to go home to visit their Mums and take them a bunch of flowers picked from the fields https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothering_Sunday. The USA picked up on the idea but are actually celebrating a similar anniversary for a different reason.
Hi Jayne, yes the UK tradition dates back to the 16th Century – our earlier blog article gives a little more information about Mother’s Day in the UK (https://twile.com/blog/2016/03/things-you-didnt-know-about-mothers-day/). It has definitely changed a lot in the UK and has become more commercialised, following the lead from the US.