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What's Mothering DaY?

Rev. Jesse

19:28 / 10.03.02

My Far Side Off the Wall calander lists today as "Mothering Day" in the UK.

What is this? I guess it would be like Mother's Day here, but what is it?

-Jesse

w1rebaby

19:30 / 10.03.02

Same thing. Technically, "Mothering Sunday" but everyone calls it "mother's day".

obviously i have neglected to send anything...

bitchiekittie

19:57 / 10.03.02

Im sure your mere existence is thanks enough for the lady, fridge

Mourne Kransky

20:06 / 10.03.02

It's an old Scottish custom which works on the Roman Catholic confessional /penance /absolution model.

You phone your Mother up and arrange to see her for the first time since Christmas, take her out for a meal, give her an expensive present, and get to feel like a Good Son for at least the next 24 hours.

Then life goes back to normal and you forget you ever had parents...

alas

00:02 / 11.03.02

as someone who mothers but does not enjoy the status of biological or legal motherhood i would like to take my hat off (not that I actually wear one) to which ever brit decided to call it mothering sunday rather than mother's day. it's just a few of us, but it does make a difference ... in the u.s. it's just "mother's day" on the 10 of may or thereabouts--no attempt to deal with step parents or others who do the job outside the traditional biological or legal roles.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

07:23 / 11.03.02

Back in the good ol' days when one's servants still worked eighteen-hour days as nature intended, it was usual for many wage slaves to get only a half-day off a week, if that. Mothering Sunday was the day when you were allowed to take a full day off, so as to go and see your mum and take her a gift (usually some money, I think). Hell if I know why it's called Mothering Sunday rather than Mother's Day, but it does sound nicer. Mother's Day has "Hallmark" written all over it.

Sauron

07:28 / 11.03.02

I think Mothering Sunday is on a religious tip.

Mother's Day is the full corporate nine yards.

And I don't mean that are day is more holy than thou's, I just mean the origin of the expression. Or what Mordant said.

Anyway, I think it's on different Sundays throughout the world so that Hallmark's throughput of bespoke card stays high all year round.

We're The Great Old Ones Now

08:29 / 11.03.02

My parents view it as an excuse to make sure I have a hangover on Monday morning.

It's remarkable how many Sundays possess that quality in their house.

Ganesh

08:51 / 11.03.02

It's actually a contracted form of the original 'Motherfucking Sunday', greasy feast day of St Hogaarden the Hungover.

alas

17:53 / 11.03.02

i didn't realize the Oedipal complex was not just entrenched but sanctified in the anglican tradition . . .

Tom Coates

18:34 / 11.03.02

I love your parents, NIck. I really do. I decided to take my own fanatical inability to do anything right as the excuse for completely forgetting about it and now I'm in full on denial, so I won't speak to my parents for another eight months or something.