Wednesday, Daffodils and Mothers.

Hello Darlings,

Am bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, today. Woke up full of bounce and am rearing to go. It's back to normal Wednesday's now that "E" is back in town. We always spend Wednesday together and often Saturday as well. But Wednesday is very much our day and a great way to spend Wednesday in my opinion. You see Wednesday has always been my favourite day of the week. Long before it was given the rather dubious title of "humpday Wednesday" I loved it.

You see to me it means that I am more than halfway to the weekend and as a child the weekend with all the family was magic. Magic because I grew up in a family of characters, all bright and beautiful, with different accents and ideas. Loud noisy and extremely funny people.
Wednesday meant I was so much closer to seeing them all and getting a break from my Mum. As you know I never really got on with her, so this meant that there would be a bit of space between us. Plus I have always seen Wednesday as "MY" day, this is because I was born on Wednesday and I refuse to be full of woe, but that's just the rebel in me who always likes to prove the opposite, don't tell me to do something or for that matter that I can't do something as that will just elicit the opposite response.

I just love, love, love Wednesday. Not sure what we will get up to today, but it's Wednesday and "MY" day so nothing can wreck it, not even those grey skies over London.

Here's a couple of things I have found out in the last day or so.

Spring is about 3weeks behind over here and as a result the daffodils are not growing as fast as normal. So there are fewer of them about to buy. One company normally sells 26million...yes million in the Spring and has only brought in a million so far. Which means there will be a shortage of daffodils this Mothering Sunday. Daffodils are traditionally given to Mothers on Mothering Sunday by their children.

Mothers day is not actually it's correct title, it should be called Mothering Sunday, but the media has changed the name of it over the past decade as it is easier for them to say. Plus in America it is held in May and called Mother's Day, the media has let this creep in over here and no disrespect to America, but could we please stick to the way we have called it for the last God knows how many centuries now. While America has only had theirs for barely a Century.
Seriously it is a difference in our cultures that should be marked and people should learn.

Here's some history for you about Mothering Sunday...............

Flowers on Mothering Sunday.

Mothering Sunday is the fourth Sunday of Lent in the UK, though it falls on different days across the world. Although it's often called "Mother's Day" it has no connection with the American festival of that name. Traditionally, it was a day when children, mainly daughters, who had gone to work as domestic servants were given a day off to visit their mother and family.

History of Mothering Sunday.

Most Sundays in the year churchgoers would 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. As they walked along the country lanes, children would pick wild flowers or violets to take to church or give to their mother as a small gift.

International Mother's Day.

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honour of Rhea, the Mother of the Gods. During the 1600's, England celebrated a day called "Mothering Sunday". Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent (the 40 day period leading up to Easter).

Mothering Sunday honoured the mothers of England. During this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honour the Mother Church - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honouring their mothers as well as the church.

In the United States Mother's Day was first suggested in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (who wrote the words to the Battle hymn of the Republic) as a day dedicated to peace. Ms. Howe would hold organized Mother's Day meetings in Boston, Mass ever year.

In 1907 Ana Jarvis, from Philadelphia, began a campaign to establish a national Mother's Day. Ms. Jarvis persuaded her mother's church in Grafton, West Virginia to celebrate Mother's Day on the second anniversary of her mother's death, the 2nd Sunday of May. By the next year Mother's Day was also celebrated in Philadelphia.

Ms. Jarvis and her supporters began to write to ministers, businessman, and politicians in their quest to establish a national Mother's Day. It was successful as by 1911 Mother's Day was celebrated in almost every state. President Woodrow Wilson, in 1914, made the official announcement proclaiming Mother's Day as a national holiday that was to be held each year on the 2nd Sunday of May.

So there you go a little history of how it all came about and why over this side of the pond it should be called Mothering Sunday and on the other side of the pond it is called Mother's Day. It also explains why it is held at different times.

In case you would like to make a cake for your mother I have looked around to find the traditional cake recipe and found a couple of goods ones.

RECIPE 1 this one will give even more history and a great recipe for the cake.

RECIPE 2 if you scroll down a bit on this one you will find two other recipes for a mothering cake.

By the way this cake is more commonly known as a SIMNEL cake and is more of a traditional Easter cake now. So you might know it better as that name.

Also you will find some recipes for a "mothers day cake" which contain chocolate, this is because they are more to do with the American version of mother's day. If you know your history, you'll know that it would not have been possible for a Mothering cake to have had chocolate in it as it did not arrive in this country till some time later and the traditional cakes dates back much further than the arrival of cocoa.

I love the differences in cultures, it makes for some very interesting learning.

Oh and if one more girlfriend phones me up and either asks me what she should buy her Mother or moans to me about having to spend time with her Mother on Mothering Sunday, I will scream so loud down the phone their ears will bleed.

I along with Nutty don't have our Mothers and it is a constant pain to us both and one of the things we both have in common and there is nothings we wouldn't do to spend just 5 minuets with our Mothers. In fact I'd almost go so far as to sell one of the kids to the devil to be with my Mother. So if you have a Mother, stop moaning and bloody well enjoy her while she is still here to enjoy, because trust me and Nutty when we tell you she is IRREPLACEABLE and you will miss her beyond anything.

Much love Lia xx