Mother"s Day History and Gift Giving
Because Mother's Day falls on a different day in the UK than it does in the US, it can make things slightly difficult if you have a website like ours that has visitors from the UK, and the rest of Europe for that matter, and North America.
So let's kick off by first of all reminding you that this year (2009) Mother's Day falls on 22nd March in the UK and not until 10th May in the USA.
In the UK, Mother's Day as all good churchgoers will know, falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent and is known as Mothering Sunday.
In the 16th century, it became a tradition for people to return to their home or 'mother' church, the main church or Cathedral of the area rather than their local, smaller church, once a year.
The date for this became the middle Sunday in Lent.
As now, many people worked away from home throughout the year, so their visit to their mother church became an occasion for family reunions.
Centuries later domestic servants and apprentices were given this day off so that they could visit their mother and the rest of their family.
It became an opportunity for children to give their mother a gift.
Inspired by the British church, North America celebrates Mother's Day, but not until the second Sunday in May.
I can't imagine Mothering Sunday not being celebrated in church by the earliest settlers, but most historic records tell that US Mother's Day was imported by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War.
Howe intended it as a call to unite women against war and she wrote a Mother's Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament.
Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis who worked through the Civil War for better sanitary conditions for both sides through what she called Mother's Work Days.
Jarvis died in 1905 and her daughter, Anna, started a crusade to found a memorial day for women.
In 1907, she handed out five hundred white carnations at her mother's church - one for each mother in the congregation.
The following year the first Mother's Day service was celebrated on 10th May.
Like other Christian festivals, commerce has taken over this religious celebration, but nonetheless, it does give children of all ages the opportunity to thank their mother by presenting them with a gift or simply by doing the washing up! For both the flower and jewelry industries Mother's Day is a very important day in the calendar.
This year we have selected a range of Mother's Day Gifts in Silver, some of which can be engraved with a special message that any mother would love to receive.
So let's kick off by first of all reminding you that this year (2009) Mother's Day falls on 22nd March in the UK and not until 10th May in the USA.
In the UK, Mother's Day as all good churchgoers will know, falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent and is known as Mothering Sunday.
In the 16th century, it became a tradition for people to return to their home or 'mother' church, the main church or Cathedral of the area rather than their local, smaller church, once a year.
The date for this became the middle Sunday in Lent.
As now, many people worked away from home throughout the year, so their visit to their mother church became an occasion for family reunions.
Centuries later domestic servants and apprentices were given this day off so that they could visit their mother and the rest of their family.
It became an opportunity for children to give their mother a gift.
Inspired by the British church, North America celebrates Mother's Day, but not until the second Sunday in May.
I can't imagine Mothering Sunday not being celebrated in church by the earliest settlers, but most historic records tell that US Mother's Day was imported by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War.
Howe intended it as a call to unite women against war and she wrote a Mother's Day Proclamation as a call for peace and disarmament.
Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis who worked through the Civil War for better sanitary conditions for both sides through what she called Mother's Work Days.
Jarvis died in 1905 and her daughter, Anna, started a crusade to found a memorial day for women.
In 1907, she handed out five hundred white carnations at her mother's church - one for each mother in the congregation.
The following year the first Mother's Day service was celebrated on 10th May.
Like other Christian festivals, commerce has taken over this religious celebration, but nonetheless, it does give children of all ages the opportunity to thank their mother by presenting them with a gift or simply by doing the washing up! For both the flower and jewelry industries Mother's Day is a very important day in the calendar.
This year we have selected a range of Mother's Day Gifts in Silver, some of which can be engraved with a special message that any mother would love to receive.
