Celebrating Mother's Day in the UK
By Melissa MacDonald and Marlee Savery
Mother's Day in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, Mother's Day was originally known as Mothering Sunday. The day has Christian roots and is celebrated annually on the fourth Sunday of Lent. This year, Mother's Day in the UK will be celebrated on March 15th, 2026. In the Middle Ages, it was a day for those who worked away from home to return to their "mother churches" and visit family. Today, however, it is usually seen as an opportunity to celebrate the mother-figures in our lives, like how we would celebrate it in Canada (even though there is no connection).
Mother's Day in Canada and the US
Mother's Day in Canada is usually celebrated on the second Sunday of May each year. It began on May 12th, 1907, when an American woman named Anna Jarvis held a memorial service for her own mother. The idea of a tribute to mother's caught on, and more states began to observe the day. By 1914, both the United States and Canada had made it a national holiday. Interestingly, Anna Jarvis later regretted creating Mother's Day because she felt that flower, card, and candy companies exploit the day by creating marketing campaigns designed to sell more products to consumers as opposed to focusing on what the day was really about, honouring mother-figures.
To learn more about the complicated histories of Mothering Sunday and Mother's Day, explore the links below:
www.bbc.co.uk
www.cbc.ca
Mother's Day in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, Mother's Day was originally known as Mothering Sunday. The day has Christian roots and is celebrated annually on the fourth Sunday of Lent. This year, Mother's Day in the UK will be celebrated on March 15th, 2026. In the Middle Ages, it was a day for those who worked away from home to return to their "mother churches" and visit family. Today, however, it is usually seen as an opportunity to celebrate the mother-figures in our lives, like how we would celebrate it in Canada (even though there is no connection).
Mother's Day in Canada and the US
Mother's Day in Canada is usually celebrated on the second Sunday of May each year. It began on May 12th, 1907, when an American woman named Anna Jarvis held a memorial service for her own mother. The idea of a tribute to mother's caught on, and more states began to observe the day. By 1914, both the United States and Canada had made it a national holiday. Interestingly, Anna Jarvis later regretted creating Mother's Day because she felt that flower, card, and candy companies exploit the day by creating marketing campaigns designed to sell more products to consumers as opposed to focusing on what the day was really about, honouring mother-figures.
To learn more about the complicated histories of Mothering Sunday and Mother's Day, explore the links below:
www.bbc.co.uk
www.cbc.ca
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