by Martyn Whittock, Christian Today
The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds Christians that they are surrounded by a great “cloud of witnesses.” (NRSVA) That “cloud” has continued to grow in size since then. In this monthly column we will be thinking about some of the people and events, over the past 2000 years, that have helped make up this “cloud.” People and events that have helped build the community of the Christian church as it exists today.
In the UK, ‘Mothering Sunday’ is traditionally celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. As Lent, in the church liturgical calendar, is decided by the date of Easter (a moveable feast), there is, consequently, no set date on which ‘Mothering Sunday’ is celebrated. Like Easter, it too moves but it is usually on a Sunday in March.
It is sometimes now called ‘Mother’s Day,’ which is a borrowing from US practice, but the two events are different. The US-inspired ‘Mother’s Day’ started in the early twentieth century and is celebrated on the second Sunday in May. It has since been joined by ‘Father’s Day’ and ‘Grandparents’ Day,’ although, arguably, only ‘Father’s Day’ competes in terms of commercial popularity.
To return to the Sunday focused on mothers. If one has a calendar or diary, one can tell if it is UK- or US-inspired by whether it uses the term ‘Mothering Sunday’ or ‘Mother’s Day’ and on which particular Sunday it places the event.
Globally, other nations also have equivalent days connected to motherhood and these are celebrated on a variety of dates. While many of these are now largely secular events, a number are rooted in different Christian faith communities which use them as a means to celebrate ‘Mother Church,’ the ‘Virgin Mary’ and/or God’s gift of motherhood.
It should also be noted that other (non-Christian) historic religious communities – including those of Ancient Greece and Rome – also had events that focused on motherhood and its significance. This is not surprising given that motherhood – as fatherhood – is a key aspect of common human experience and has often been the focus of religious devotion in some form, or used as a means by which spiritual concepts can be expressed.
What is most significant is that the particular tradition of ‘Mothering Sunday’ – as found in the UK, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries – has its roots in an event that is much older than the US celebration and the commercial card-giving and gift-giving that the US event has inspired. And these roots – where we can identify them from the sparse medieval and Early Modern sources – express Christian beliefs and practices.