It's mother's day soon on Sunday 6th of March. And I've been around a bit over the last few years and noticed that all other countries have mother's day on a different day to the UK?

I know mother's day could be a farely recent invention, probably invented by the greeting card industry. And in churches they have Mothering Sunday, on the nearest day to Mother's day.

But why do we have to have a different day to the rest of the world?
Can anybody shed any light on this?

Does it matter?
Just buy a card and walk away. If this was the only thing to worry about, the world would be fine.
*Philoshophical head on* will be fine later

In the UK, mothers day is always celebrated on the ( tries to do quick calculations...2nd?) Sunday in Lent. (third sunday before Easter)

It used to be that servants, and apprentices etc., particularly, would get the day off to worship, at their "Mother" church (the parish in which they were born/baptised/ raised) and it was also taken as an opportunity to visit with their families, particularly their mothers.

The card industry have made a big thing of mothers day, and, really, they've commercialised it like everything else... but it is a centuries old tradition, from long, long before the card industry got its claws into it.

I am not sure why places like the US celebrate it in June. maybe it interfered with another celebration, over there?

I have the loveliest memories, of when my lad was young (about 3/4/5/6) and how he'd come bursting out of school, the week before mothers day, clutching a hand-made card, with stylised daffodils on it, for me. These cards would give me such delight (woman of simple pleasures, that I am!) i absolutely loved to reciceve these cards from him, ... on mothering sunday, we'd attend church as usual, where all the kiddies in the congregaton would be given a little bunch of about three daffodils, to give to the mothers.

You know what? Daffodils are still my favourite flower to this day. You can forget your roses, and your carnations, etc.

Just give me a simple bunch of daffs, and I wll be delighted. (lol)

PT

Mothering Sunday has been in the churches of Europe since the 1600's when it was fixed as the 4th Sunday in Lent and that is "Mothers' Day in the UK, but in America the date is down to the day Mrs Jarvis died! (http://www.usemb.se/Holidays/celebrate/mothers.html) and got fixed as the 2nd Sunday in May.
Russia and many others go for (International) Women's Day on March 8th.


A bit more from the BBC: (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/features/mday/index.shtml)
History of Mothering Sunday
Most Sundays in the year churchgoers in England worship at their nearest parish or "daughter church".

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.)

And most historians think that it was the return to the "Mother" church which led to the tradition of children, particularly those working as domestic servants, or as apprentices, being given the day off to visit their mother and family.

Hi everyone,
thanks for your answers. You have really cleared the matter up for me. Now I am less angry and I can go and have a lie down.