Mothers Day 2023

We are asking you for donations through our website & our JustGiving page to help raise money for Peterborough Women’s Aid so we can continue to deliver our services across Peterborough and the surrounding areas.

You can donate to our cause by…

What is a mother?

A True, Real-life definition of “Mum” Mother, Mamma, Mummy, or just plain Mum are just some names for the woman in your life that will help raise you and love you unconditionally forever and always. A mother endures the good, the bad and the ugly from their children and always hands out hugs and kisses.

A mother works hard to make sure their child is equipped with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to make it as a competent human being. Being a mother is perhaps the hardest, most rewarding job a woman will ever experience. From the day they are born, a child will test you in more ways than one.

The list of mums is never ending. There is the biological mother, the foster mother, the stepmother, the single mother, the grandparent, and so many more. A mother is a caregiver and unconditional love giver, housekeeper, cook, baker, taxi driver, psychologist, doctor.

This year, the UK will celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday, March 19 and we are asking you for donations through our website & our JustGiving page to help raise money for Peterborough Women’s Aid so we can continue to deliver our services across Peterborough and the surrounding areas.

You can donate to our cause by using this link – Peterborough Women’s Aid – JustGiving or www.justgiving.com/peterborowomensaid

Mother’s Day is a celebration honouring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March or May.

The UK date of this celebration is rooted in the Christian observance of Mothering Sunday.

Mothering Sunday takes place on the fourth Sunday in the festival of Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday. This observance originated in the Middle Ages, when children who had left their families to work in domestic service were allowed to go to their home – or “mother” – church. The journey home morphed into a spring occasion for families to reunite, which eventually adopted the custom of children picking flowers on the way home as a gift to their mothers.

The date also became a celebration as the fasting rules of Lent were relaxed, earning the day the name of Refreshment Sunday, Simnel Sunday – after the Simnel cakes traditionally baked on the day – and Pudding Pie Sunday to some.

How did Mothering Sunday become Mother’s Day?

Mother’s Day began in America in 1907. Anna Jarvis, the daughter of a peace activist who treated wounded soldiers in the American Civil War, campaigned for a day to honour the role played by mothers. The idea gained such traction that, by 1911, all US states took on the holiday, and it was declared a national holiday by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914. Eventually, this tradition reached the UK, and Mothering Sunday became more popularly known as Mother’s Day.

Why is Mother’s Day celebrated at different times around the world?

Mother’s Day has become more secular and commercialised and is now celebrated globally. Some countries gave it a religious meaning – which has been gradually lost over the years. In other countries, the date is based on seasons or times of the year.

Whilst Nigeria joins the UK and Ireland in celebrating mothers on the fourth Sunday of Lent, most countries around the world follow America’s lead in celebrating the holiday on the second Sunday in May, which this year is May 14. Others still – including Russia, Vietnam, and Afghanistan – mark the occasion on International Women’s Day on March 8. In France, the festivity is traditionally celebrated on the last Sunday of May, but it is moved to the first Sunday of June if it coincides with Pentecost day.