Okay, that being said, Tom (of course we're on first name basis)has been tweeting all morning about cooking dinner for his mum (proper british spelling, of course), buying her bath soaps, writing her a song (holy cow I didn't know Tom was a muscian?!), etc, and then expressing extreme confusion about how all his American followers believe Mother's day to be in May. He insists it's today.
Well, clearly there is some cultural diversity amuck here! Shall we turn to google?
A lovely site called projectbritain.com explains it all for us:
Mothering Sunday
The UK's version of Mother's Day - 22 March 2009
What is Mothering Sunday?
Mothering Sunday in the UK is the equivalent of Mothers' Day in other countries.
What happens on Mothering Sunday in the UK?
Mothering Sunday is a time when children pay respect to their Mothers. Children often give their Mothers a gift and a card.
Mothering Sunday church service
Many churches give the children in the congregation a little bunch of spring flowers to give to their Mothers as a thank you for all their care and love throughout the year.
When is Mothering Sunday (Mother's Day)?
Mothering Sunday (Mother's Day) is always the fourth Sunday of Lent.
2009 Mothering Sunday in UK in 2009 - 22 March
(Mother's Day in US in 2009 - 10 May)
2010 Mothering Sunday in UK in 2010 - 14 March
(Mother's Day in US in 2010 - 9 May)
2011 Mothering Sunday in UK in 2011 - 3 April
(Mother's Day in US in 2010 - 8 May)
Why is Mothering Sunday on different dates each year?
Mothering Sunday is not a fixed day because it is always the middle Sunday in Lent (which lasts from Ash Wednesday to the day before Easter Sunday). This means that Mother's Day in the UK will fall on different dates each year and sometimes even fall in different months.
Mothering Sunday has been celebrated in the UK on the fourth Sunday in Lent since at least the 16th century.
The History behind Mothering Sunday
Mothering Sunday was also known as 'Refreshment Sunday' or 'Mid-Lent Sunday'. It was often called Refreshment Sunday because the fasting rules for Lent were relaxed, in honour of the 'Feeding of the Five Thousand', a story in the Christian Bible.
No one is absolutely certain exactly how the idea of Mothering Sunday began. However, it is known that on this day, about four hundred years ago, people made a point of visiting their nearest big church (the Mother Church). A cathedral is a very large church and the 'mother church' of all other churches in an area ('diocese').
People who visited their mother church would say they had gone "a mothering."
Young British girls and boys 'in service' (maids and servants) were only allowed one day to visit their family each year. This was usually Mothering Sunday. Often the housekeeper or cook would allow the maids to bake a cake to take home for their mother. Sometimes a gift of eggs; or flowers from the garden (or hothouse) was allowed. Flowers were traditional, as the young girls and boys would have to walk home to their village, and could gather them on their way home through the meadows.
Well there you have it, tom. You're right after all ! Silly American's and our ethnocentrism, assuming our holidays are the same as yours!
Have a lovely mothering day with your mum :)
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