Mother’s Day in Ireland

Cards, flowers, gifts, chocolate, more flowers and lots of love. Mother’s day is celebrated all across the world. In Ireland, it is coming up soon! Unlike many other countries which celebrate Mother’s Day in May, in Ireland, this special day falls on the fourth Sunday of the Christian fasting month of Lent.

We all know that Mother’s Day is all about thanking our mother for all that she has done for us but not many know why or when we started celebrating it.

The origins of Mother’s Day in Ireland can be traced back to the medieval age. During the 16th century, poor children (Catholics in most of the cases) were sent away to work as servants or apprentices in houses owned by rich (Protestant) families. Once a year in the middle of the Lent the children would be sent home to worship Virgin Mary and visit their mother church in their hometown. On their way home they would pick flowers for their mothers and afterwards spend time with their families.

How do people celebrate Mother’s Day in Ireland?

On Mother’s Day, people express their gratitude and love towards their mother by pampering them throughout the day. Mothers receive gifts, flowers, cards and lots of love from their children or/and are taken out for lunch or dinner.

Here are some ideas how you could surprise your Mum on Mother’s Day:

Anything is fine, as long as it makes your mum happy and feel special on this particular day. Mother’s Day is a great day to do that but considering what mothers do for us everyday, we should perhaps show our appreciation more often and make every single day feel like a “Mother’s Day”.