Mothering Sunday coincides with which Sunday in the Christian calendar?

Mothering Sunday coincides with Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent in the Western Christian calendar. It is also called Mid-Lent Sunday, Refreshment Sunday, or Rose Sunday.

The observance originated in medieval Britain as a day when Christians returned to their “mother church”—the church where they were baptized, their local parish church, or sometimes the cathedral. The religious meaning came before the modern custom of honoring one’s mother with cards and gifts.

Laetare Sunday is a brief moment of relaxation during Lent, traditionally a season of fasting and penitence. Its name comes from the Latin introit beginning “Laetare Jerusalem,” meaning “Rejoice, Jerusalem.” Churches may use rose-colored vestments rather than the usual violet, which explains the alternative name Rose Sunday.

Mothering Sunday is not the same as the American Mother’s Day date. It falls three weeks before Easter because it is fixed to the fourth Sunday of Lent, so its Gregorian calendar date changes each year. Gaudete Sunday is the analogous refreshment Sunday in Advent, not the one associated with Mothering Sunday.