What is the traditional British name for Mother's Day?

The traditional British name for Mother’s Day is Mothering Sunday. In the United Kingdom, it is observed on the fourth Sunday of Lent rather than on the second Sunday in May, the date used in the United States.

Mothering Sunday began as a Christian observance connected with visiting one’s “mother church”—the church where a person was baptized, or the principal church of the local area. Medieval Christians commonly made this visit on Laetare Sunday, also called Mid-Lent or Refreshment Sunday, a point of relief during Lent.

The modern celebration also acquired a family-centered meaning. Domestic servants were traditionally given time off to return home and visit their mothers, and children often brought flowers or special foods. Constance Adelaide Smith helped revive and broaden the observance in the early twentieth century.

“Mother’s Day” is now widely used in British commercial settings, so the two names can seem interchangeable. Historically, however, Mothering Sunday is the older British religious tradition, while the American Mother’s Day movement was developed by Anna Jarvis and fixed to May.