Mothering Sunday

[Allen W Thrasher]

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Thanks for the clarification.  It's still called Laetare Sunday in the US.  I'd never heard of Mothering Sunday.

Allen


Allen W. Thrasher, Ph.D.
Senior Reference Librarian
Southern Asia Section
Asian Division
Library of Congress
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>>> fcosw5 at webmail.SCU.EDU.TW 05/10/05 1:03 am >>>
VYAKARAN: South Asian Languages and Linguistics Net
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          John Peterson, University of Osnabrueck, Germany
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> Is this because of something in the readings of the day in the Christian churches,
> or just to avoid the day coinciding with Easter or one of the other religious feasts
> on various Sundays after Easter (Pentecost, Trinity, and in the Catholic Church,
> Corpus Christi)?
>
>
> Allen Thrasher

Historically, the Fourth Sunday in Lent was treated as a brief `relaxation' from Lenten discipline.  In Mediaeval Europe, apprentices were allowed to return to their natal homes for that weekend, to visit their parents, etc.; this is an important part of why it came to be known as `Mothering Sunday'.  It's also known (in e.g. traditional Roman Catholic circles) as `Laetare Sunday', after the opening of the Proper Introit for the day, which carries essentially the same upbeat sort of message (`laetare' = rejoice).  Even today, the Propers still show a clear change of focus from the more discipline-centered readings early in Lent to the expectancy looking towards the Passion.

Best,
Steven

Steven Schaufele, Ph.D.
English Dept., Soochow University
Taipei, Taiwan
Telephone: (home) 2877-1090
(office) 2881-9471 ext. 6504
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