To ask why it is now Mother's Day

[AmazingGreatAunt]

instead of Mothering Sunday?
Is this a further sign of the secularising of the UK in general or just the assimilation of additional transatlantic habits?
I live in a European country that has a Mother's Day at the beginning of May, which has nothing to do with returning to your home church.

Never heard it called mothering sunday. What's father's day then ? Fathering Sunday ?

I had no idea about the 'mother church' connotation, I'm mid 40s and grew up in a secular home. I always understood it to be the time that estates released the household staff to go visit their mothers?

I’m 41 and only ever known it as Mother’s Day

Ooh its both! From BBC article (not chatgpt!)

History of Mothering Sunday
Most Sundays in the year churchgoers in England worship at their nearest parish or 'daughter church'.

Centuries ago it was considered important for people to return to their home or 'mother' church once a year. So each year in the middle of Lent, everyone would visit their 'mother' church - the main church or cathedral of the area.

Inevitably the return to the 'mother' church became an occasion for family reunions when children who were working away returned home. (It was quite common in those days for children to leave home for work once they were ten years old.)

And most historians think that it was the return to the 'Mother' church which led to the tradition of children, particularly those working as domestic servants, or as apprentices, being given the day off to visit their mother and family.

As they walked along the country lanes, children would pick wild flowers or violets to take to church or give to their mother as a small gift.

I’m 72 and I’ve always known it as Mother’s Day .

I’m an atheist but was brought up in a super religious house, its always been Mother’s Day
Happy to adopt the religious holidays as secular events. It reduces the power of the church and religion overall. That can only be a good thing

Its become that because like all other names and words that change over time it has changed.

We no longer say thee thou etc. A bird used to be a brid. Want to complain about that as well??

I call it sunday.

I'm 67 and it's always been known as Mother's Day to me too.

It was rarely called Mothering Sunday when I was a kid, and I’m 70.

Every six weeks, as it’s always been…

Same here and I'm 60.

Grew up Catholic. Went to church and everything. I think i can vaguely remember the terms being interchangeable.

Graham Swift wrote a novel called Mothering Sunday.

I actually will be going back to my mother church, but I've still never thought of it as Mothering Sunday.

My mother was a mother all day, every day too! We didn’t need a special day to
show how much we loved her. However, we made Mother’s Day ‘extra special’ for her…happily, we always managed to do both.

this traditional British day merged with the more commercial American Mother's Day, though it still falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent. This happened in the 20th century

Yup!

Was it perhaps a Church of England tradition of returning to the Mother church? Grew up in a Catholic household in Scotland & it was NEVER Mothering Sunday. I had never even heard of the phrase until I was older & saw it referred to as such on TV/ newspapers.

I can't stand this middle- England, middle/ upper class snobbery over what things are called.

Yes, how awful people should want to sell us things and make money 🤔

My grandparents called it Mother’s Day and they were born in the 1910s.

Can anyone explain why it is Mother's Day and not Mothers' Day? I work in a school and we make cards and every year I feel the need to check that I am not being stupid because, to me, it should be Mothers'.

Anyway, in answer to your question, my nan called it Mothering Sunday. She was religious and traditional. Everyone else I know calls it Mother's Day. As others have said it was to do with returning to your main home church and many servants got a rare day off where they could return home to see their family.

We should just do what Mexico do and all women just go on strike for the day. I think it would be far better than moaning about not getting the right flowers, while you mop the floors ready for the school week.

It’s Mothers’ Day because it’s a day to celebrate and thank all mothers.

If it were Mother’s Day, we’d just be celebrating one mother.

But we ignore it in this family, however it’s spelled. I don’t want my kids spending money on plastic tat or flowers that I can watch die over the next few days.

I'm 69 and in my childhood we always called it Mothering Sunday. We weren't a "churchy" family though. Mother's Day became the standard sometime in the 70's.

64 and we've always called it Mother's Day.