In the Middle Ages, many people had to travel far from home to earn a living. They became servants where work was available, or they learned a trade from someone who was willing to teach them.

These people were given a special holiday every year. It cam on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, on Laetare (“rejoice”) Sunday. In the liturgy on this day, the city of Jerusalem is called our mother. We rejoice because when Easter arrives we will be reunited with mother Jerusalem.

Laetare Sunday came to be called Mothering Sunday. On this day people would go home to see their mothers. Many family reunions were held. People were even excused from Lenten fast on that day.

The Mother’s Day we have in May was started in the early twentieth century by and American woman named Anna Jarvis. After her mother died, she suggested that a memorial service be held in church to honor all mothers. The first such service was held in a Philadelphia church in 1908. Those who attended were asked to wear white carnations in memory of their mothers.

People were so taken with the observance of such a day that in 1914 Congress proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. Other countries adopted the idea. In England they restored the old custom of Mothering Sunday in Lent.

A mother provides life and nourishment. On this day we remember all who are examples of a mother’s love.

Written by Mary Ellen Hynes
Companion to the Calendar/Liturgy Training Publications