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"God could not be everywhere, so he made mothers."
Jewish proverb
Mother's
Day Flowers
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 The
earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the
spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honour of Rhea, the
Mother of the Gods. The Romans called their version of the
event the Hilaria, and celebrated on the Ides of March by
making offerings in the temple of Cybele, the Mother of the
Gods. Ceremonies in her honour began some 250 years before
Christ was born.
During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering
Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent. During
this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for
the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes,
the servants would live at the houses of their employers.
On Sundays the servants would have the day off and were encouraged
to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special
cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to
provide a festive touch. This became known as Simnel Cake.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration
changed to honour the "Mother Church" - the spiritual
power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over
time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday
celebration . People began honouring their mothers as well
as the church.
What about buying your mother a great day out. From chilling
out at a health spa to a hot air balloon ride, these gifts
are sure to thrill from Thanksdarling.com.
Mothering Sunday was a time put aside for relaxation and enjoyment
during the long Lenten fast. In olden days, young servant
girls who worked away from home were given time off by their
masters to visit their mothers on this special day and they
would bake a simnel cake to present as a gift.
Another explanation
states that 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, or 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).
Sometimes furmety was
served - wheat grains boiled in sweet milk, sugared and spiced.
In northern England and in Scotland, the preferred refreshments
were carlings - pancakes made of steeped pease fried in butter,
with pepper and salt. In fact, in some locations this day
was called Carling Sunday.
Earlier traditions saw Simnel Cake being eaten on Mothering
Sunday, but it soon became customary to keep the cake until
Easter Sunday. This rich fruit cake was said to test the girl's
skills as a cook. If it remained moist and maintained its
taste until Easter Sunday, she was seen as a good cook.
Mothering Sunday was
also referred to as Refreshment Sunday due to the relaxing
of the rules for Lent on that particular day.
The name simnel is
derived from the old French word simenel via the Latin term
used to describe the finest flour for baking cakes, simila.
Simnel cake is a rich
fruitcake covered with a thick layer of almond paste or icing,
and decorated with eleven small balls of almond paste - made
to signify all the apostles except Judas. Originally, the
crust was occasionally made from a mixture of flour and water,
which was coloured with saffron. The earliest simnel cakes
were more akin to biscuits due to their size and thinness.
Mother's
Day Flowers
Send beautiful fresh flowers by post this
Mother's day including free UK delivery, personal message
card and free milk chocolate flowers with all orders! Click
here
Another tradition was
to engrave a figure of Jesus in the centre of the cake with
the 11 or 12 paste balls surrounding the image.
Traditionally
these cakes were also decorated with fresh flowers, although
these days most cooks use crystalised flowers - such as violets
and primroses - or fluffy chicks and coloured eggs.
An early mention of Simnel, dated early 1200s, appears in
the history of the village of Comberton. A manor was given
to Erchenger, the baker, who had to provide a hot simnel loaf
to the King each morning in return.
Another tradition
states that Mothering Sunday (or Mid-Lent Sunday as it is
also known) commemorates the banquet given by Joseph to his
brethren.
In the USA, by 1911
Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President
Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming
Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each
year on the 2nd Sunday of May.
Denmark, Finland,
Italy, Turkey, Australia, and Belgium also celebrate Mother's
Day on the second Sunday of May.
The traditional Mother's
Day flower is a carnation, either pink carnations given to
mothers to represent love for them, or white carnations worn
in respect for those mothers who are no longer living.
For more fascinating insights have a look at our
50 Mother's Day Facts.
Mother's
Day Flowers
Send beautiful fresh flowers by post this
Mother's day including free UK delivery, personal message
card and free milk chocolate flowers with all orders! Click
here
Pamper
Days
What about buying your mother a great day out. From chilling
out at a health spa to a hot air balloon ride, these gifts
are sure to thrill from Thanksdarling.com.
50 Mother's Day Facts
Ever wondered how it all began? How do other countries celebrate?
Find the answers in our top 50 interesting facts about this
day - you'll be surprised what you will discover! More...
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