Mothering Sunday

Young Mothers, Old Mothers,

Pushy mothers, Loud mothers,

Fat mothers, Slim mothers,

Something in between Mothers.

Mothers always in a rush,

Going out to work,

Stay at home Mothers,

(Is that a perk?)

Mothers who are jolly,

Mothers who are kind,

Mothers who give everything,

They never seem to mind,

The sacrifices that they make,

They love their 'smalls' to bits,

Ever loving Mothers,

Sometimes driven to their wits

End of the day,

When the work is done,

Do they sit and think,

'Motherhood is fun'?

And so, to Mothers everywhere,
Not forgetting mine,
May your day be lovely,
I hope the sun does shine.
To thank you for your Mothering,
This Sunday is your day,
We love you Mum,
You are the best!
Hip Hip, Hip Hip, Hooray!

Sal;-) 2nd March 2008
Painting : Mother and Child by Gustav Klimt

The fourth Sunday in Lent is called Mothering Sunday and the traditions associated with Mothering Sunday in England, date back as long ago as the 16th century.

On this day, people were encouraged to return to worship in their, ‘mother church', where they had been baptised. People who usually attended their local parish church, would make a longer journey to the ‘mother church’ or cathedral of the diocese.

Girls in domestic service would bake to show their mothers their new skills in the form of a gift, traditionally a simnel cake. On this day, many girls who were in service, were allowed time off from domestic chores, to visit their mothers and their family.

Often, they would gather flowers from the hedgerow as they made their way to their homes.

Nowadays, the original meaning of Mothering Sunday has been largely lost. Families are too often scattered across the world and cannot meet to attend church and dine together as a united family.

But we still observe Mothering Sunday, although perhaps not in quite the same ways as in days gone by.