Happy Mothering Sunday

Mother's Day is on a different day in America, which has always puzzled me.  Why didn't the Pilgrim fathers take the date with them when they landed on Plymouth Rock?  It seems as though the two celebrations arise from different festivals.  In the UK, Mothering Sunday is the Sunday half-way through lent and was a celebration of Mary, mother of Jesus.  While, in America it started as tribute to Ann Jarvis, who founded a 'Mothers Day Work Club' to bring together the mothers of sons (from both sides) who had died during the Civil War.

 

In this country the celebration wasn't really about mothers, but much more about the Church.  The lent rules on eating were relaxed slightly and children who were in service (often from the age of 10) were allowed to go to their home church (their Mother Church) and take a Simnel Cake for their mother.  

(Ooh this is spooky.  I've just written this as Aled Jones repeats my words on Songs of Praise)

Simnel Cake has now become an Easter tradition although I have never made one before as I hate marzipan.

Today, I have been completely spoilt.  Chocolates, flowers, DVD, a lovely walk with my son and dog and lunch at the pub with my mother, grandmother and the rest of the family.  The best present was that children waited for a gap in my piano practice to come running in with their presents, shouting, "quick, quick, a gap, quick, a gap!" 

Mother's Day always reminds me of making cards in Infant and Junior school.  One year, in the infants, I was in the scruffy demountable  at lunchtime helping the teacher cut out shapes to make flowers on the mother's day cards.  I was chosen because I was a goody two-shoes and could be trusted to use a pair of scissors without stabbing myself.  Another teacher came in and the two adults completely forgot that I was in the room.  They were talking about a girl in my class and whether she should make a card, as she lived with her Dad.  Apparently, her Mum was a 'Huzzy' (a word that was mouthed, Les Dawson style).    It's quite amazing now that she was the only one.  I believe they decided that she could make a card for her Dad, as he was doing everything her Mum would do.

 

Remembering this, made me realise that the long-suffering husband is often Mum to this family too and as he adores marzipan I made him a Simnel Cake.  It is a light lemony fruit cake (4eggs, 8oz) with a disc of marzipan in the middle and decorated with 13 marzipan balls (to represent the apostles)