Mother´s Day Traditions

Three generations of Mothers: My grandmother, my mother and I

Mother´s Day is in May in many countries, but in Britain it is in March, three weeks before Easter. Children give cards and presents to their mothers. They say thanks for all the good things mothers do for them.

In the XIX century many young girls went away from home. They went to work as maids for rich people. They worked very hard and didn´t get very much free time off but Mothering Sunday was a holiday. The maids were allowed to go home to visit their mothers. They used to make a special cake to carry home. It was made of fruit and spices and it was decorated with twelve marzipan balls to represent Christ´s Apostles. In most cases, however only eleven balls feature because Judas Iscariot was not thought to deserve a place on such a cake: Simnel Cake.

This year Mother´s Day is on 18th March in Britain.

An old name for Mother´s Day is Mothering Sunday.

School year 2011/2012
References:

Birdsall, Melanie. Festivals and Special days in Britain. Scholastic, 2007