Mother’s Day is the time to celebrate mums everywhere. The celebration honours mothers and motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society.
Looking for things to do with your mum on her special day?
More about Mother’s Day
Did you know that Mother’s Day is celebrated all around the world? It’s a chance for people to get in touch with mothers they don’t see very often, or just simply to spoil them for helping out all year round.
What will you do for your mother this year? It’s customary to buy a card and gift and it’s a boom time for florists.
Instead of buying flowers which will wither and quickly die, why not buy a plant? If you’ve not got a garden, a houseplant will last a long time. Orchids in particular are really easy to keep. The flowers that are on them when they’re bought last for weeks and weeks. Cut the flower stem off when it dies and several weeks (maybe months) later it will flower again. They can stay in full flower for several months. Brilliant value!
A rose by any name..
If you’ve got a garden what about a special plant? Maybe a camellia that will flower every year around the time of Mother’s Day itself.
Garden centres usually have specially named roses just for the occasion – in all kinds of colours. Maybe a hanging basket is more the ticket? A Spring one with pansies will last right into the summer and provide many more weeks of enjoyment than cut flowers.
Mother’s Day lunch is of course a busy time of year, so if you’re thinking of taking your mum out you’d better book it early! Hopefully the weather will be kind and you can enjoy a walk on the seafront afterwards and burn off some of those calories.
The special lady in your life might be a young mum, or a mum to young people, or maybe she’s mum to a pet! It’s a chance to thank the special women in your life for what they do on a daily basis. There’s one thing for certain, you won’t be short of somewhere to go and something to do here on the Fylde Coast.
Hand Made means More
Before Mother’s Day the shops are full of pastel pinks and yellows, sweets, flowers and gifts. If your mum doesn’t like plants and flowers you’re probably wondering what to buy her?
Most people are good at something so why don’t you use your skills to make your mum something this year? If you’re a reasonable cook you could bake a cake, buns or biscuits. Maybe you could paint her a picture or a card. If you like handicrafts you could make a keepsake.
The time, effort and thought that goes into hand made gifts is worth far more than the pounds spent in your local shop. Why don’t you try it this year?
Mother’s Day Traditions and History
As is customary at Visit Fylde Coast, we’ve taken a look back into the past of this tradition, wondering where it all began.
As we said, it’s celebrated literally all over the world, in different months, different ways and with different origins. In some countries it’s offensive if you miss it, while in others it’s a little-known festival, or maybe appears in the local media as a taste of foreign culture. Like many celebrations, its commercialisation happened in America, but here in the UK its origins are in the Christian calendar.
In the UK its origins are in the 16th century custom of ‘Mothering Sunday’. It fell on the fourth Sunday of Lent (three Sundays before Easter), which explains why it always moves about. In the 1500’s it was traditional to visit your ‘mother church’, annually on what was known as Laetere Sunday (the fourth Sunday of Lent). Either where you were christened, your parish church or nearest cathedral. Originally you were said to be ‘going-a-mothering’ and over the years it became known as Mothering Sunday. Servants got the day off to go back to the parish where they were born, with children and the family joining in.
Time off was a rarity for servants. So the opportunity for a family day where most mothers would be reunited with their children was welcomed and gradually became the focus of the day. Not just visiting the mother church, but your own mother.
Mainstream custom
Over the years the custom became mainstream and became a time to show appreciation for your mother. The custom had quietened at the beginning of the 1900’s. But it grew rapidly in popularity when the US soldiers were in the UK at the time of World War II.
Their Mother’s Day celebrations had a different original altogether. Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia, whose mother had organized women’s groups to promote friendship and health, originated Mother’s Day. On May 12, 1907, she held a memorial service at her late mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia.
The US ‘Mother’s Day’ merged with the church’s ‘Mothering Sunday’ traditions, and by the 1950s had become the annual celebration we see today. Some churches still recognise it in a historical sense, with Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as the traditional concept of the ‘Mother Church’.
So there you have it. The tradition behind another custom, and a few ways to make sure that your mother knows that you appreciate what she does for you. Have a lovely Mother’s Day!
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