It is mainly in the English-speaking areas of the world that this Christian season is called Lent. Other areas use various words, though most are based on the old Latin word quadragesima, indicating the 40 days of the period of Lent.

The English term is derived from an Old English word meaning ‘to lengthen’ which was particularly applied to the Spring season when Lent is celebrated. The daylight hours were increasing appreciably, giving an expectation of better days ahead. It replaced the Latin term in England in the late Middle Ages when sermons began to be preached in the ordinary language rather than in Latin.

This year, Lent has started early because Easter is early, so the weather may not have improved much from the cold of this winter. But some snowdrops and crocuses will have been out by now to announce that Spring cannot be far away.

One of the main themes often explored in Lent is Christ’s withdrawal into the wilderness immediately after His baptism in the River Jordan by John (Matthew 3:13 – 4:11). It was a time of testing for Him, a real ‘winter of the soul’, as He tried to work out how He should go about His ministry to fulfil God’s plan of salvation.

He rejected the usual ways by which men seek to have control over people – promising material prosperity (4:3-4), using imaginative publicity (v.5-7) and manipulating worldly power (v.8-10).

Instead, He chose the way of love, showing by way of example and teaching the relationship God offers to each of us.

In the end, it took Him to the cross at Calvary and beyond it, the Resurrection. Lent gives us a chance to think about Christ’s choice and sacrifice and the choices we make so that, when Easter comes, we may know that Spring – Eternal Spring – has indeed sprung, even if our weather has not yet brightened up.

For many people, there seems to be no difference between Mother’s Day and Mothering Sunday, perhaps because in the UK they are celebrated on the same day, the fourth Sunday in Lent. In other parts of the world, there may be not be a Mothering Sunday, only Mother’s Day.

The difference is that one is fairly old and one relatively recent; one has a religious background and one hasn’t.

The older celebration is Mothering Sunday which goes back at least 400 years and is part of the Church calendar in some Christian churches in Europe and the UK. In contrast, the first suggestion of a Mother’s Day celebration originated in the USA only about 1870, but it didn’t really become widely recognised until the early 1900s.

The origins of both are rather sketchy.
Mothering Sunday possibly started as a way of getting people to know to which diocese or church district they belonged. It is suggested that the churchgoers who worshipped week by week at the local parish church would go, once a year, to the cathedral or other major church in the area – the ‘mother church’ from which the local ‘daughter’ churches had been set up.

Another suggested origin for Mothering Sunday is that, even when people had moved away from their home village, it was considered important for them to visit the church where they were brought up – their ‘mother’ church – to keep in contact with it. In the days when young men and women, sometimes barely in their ‘teens, had to leave their home to find work ‘in service’, this day, Mothering Sunday, was the one day in the year when they were allowed to go home. Consequently, it became an important family occasion, often the only day in the year when the whole family were able to get together. The family reunion would start in the church service and, to mark such a notable day, a simnel cake was often baked to be eaten by the family. The time at church also meant that those returning home could meet up with old friends similarly returning on this day to their church and their home.
The modern Mother’s Day is attributed to various people in the USA who wanted to honour their mothers and whose efforts eventually lead to a non-religious celebration day which can be observed at any time of the year. In the USA it occurs in May.

Though they may seem confusing, Mother’s Day and Mothering Sunday are both a reminder of the importance of ‘Mothers’, both our natural mother and our spiritual mother, the Church. There is great value in visiting and honouring both of these ‘mothers’, not just once a year but as often as possible.