Mothering Sunday

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A Nottinghamshire connection

By Alice Cave

It’s Mothering Sunday on April 3rd in 2011.  It always falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent.  Don’t confuse it with Mother's Day, an American aberration which takes place in May. 

In the days when young girls were sent away to be ‘in service’, Mothering Sunday was one day in the year when they sometimes had permission to return home.  The day also relates to the idea of a pilgrimage to the ‘mother church’ or cathedral of the diocese.  An alternative name for it is Refreshment Sunday, as the Lenten fast could be broken (must be all that Simnel Cake!).  For an older Nottinghamshire delicacy linked with the day, click here. 

Mothering Sunday has particular resonance in Nottinghamshire, as it was partly thanks to the efforts of a local woman that we celebrate it now.  Constance Smith of Coddington played an important role in its revival.  You can find out more at the Coddington History Group website.  The relevant page is here.