When is Mother’s Day?

Easter falls on the first full moon after 21^st March, so the date of Mother’s Day changes each year.   Mother’s Day falls on the 4th Sunday in Lent – Mid-Lent Sunday – the halfway mark through the season of fasting and penitence.

How did Mothering Sunday originate?

 We all know Mother’s Day is for pampering our Mums: cleaning and cooking are off the table and flowers and chocolates are most definitely on it!

However, the medieval origins of this day of recognition – Mothering Sunday  – lay in a more spiritual conception of motherhood.

As far back as the 12^th century, Mid-Lent Sunday was a day to recognise the various aspects of mothering, by forming a procession to one’s ‘mother church’, and ‘honouring the gifts of Mother Earth’.  For daughters working away from home as domestic servants, it was also a day to visit their mothers with a gift.

Mother’s Day In Modern Times

Fast forward to 1921, when Constance Smith, a vicar’s daughter from Nottinghamshire, had been following with interest the work of the American activist, Anna Jarvis.  Anna had successfully campaigned in the US for the second Sunday in May to be proclaimed a day of ‘public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country’.

Constance, though inspired by these efforts, was not herself a mother, and proposed a deeper, more inclusive definition of motherhood, since mothering was already celebrated on Mid-Lent Sunday.  This needed only to be strengthened through the official recognition of Mothering Sunday.

It’s thanks to Anna and Constance that Mother’s Day has come to represent a public expression of love and appreciation for women’s endeavours to nurture their families, communities, countries, and the wider world.

And what better way to show our appreciation than with a gorgeous box of luxury chocolates for Mother’s Day?

Take a look at our Mother’s Day Gifts to explore our recommended range of luxury chocolates and French confiserie for Mother’s Day.