[originaltext] Mothering Sunday in the UK is the equivalent of Mother’s Day

Mothering Sunday in the UK is the equivalent of Mother’s Day in other countries. Unlike the Mother’s Day in other countries, which is on the second Sunday in May, (32) Mothering Sunday is observed on the fourth Sunday in Lent; that is why it is also called Mid-Lent Sunday. Mothering Sunday is a time when children pay respect to their mothers. Children often give their mothers a gift and a card. Many churches give the children in the congregation a little bunch of spring flowers daring the Mothering Sunday service, to give to their mothers as a thank you for all their care and love throughout the year.
     (33)Also in England in the 1600s,young men and women who were apprentices or servants returned home on Mothering Sunday, bringing to their mothers small gifts like costume jewelery or a" mothering cake". Sometimes a special food called furmety was served--wheat grains boiled in sweet milk, sugared and spiced.
     In northern England and in Scotland. (35) the preferred refreshments were carlings, a kind of pancake made of steeped pease fried in butter, with pepper and salt. In fact, in some places this day was called Carling Sunday
     Another kind of mothering cake was the simnel cake, a very rich fruit cake. (34) Mothering Sunday is sometimes known as Simnel Sunday or Refreshment Sunday, because of the tradition of baking simnel cakes. The Lenten fast dictated that the simnel cake had to keep until Easter. It was boiled in water, then baked, and was often finished with an almond icing. Sometimes the crust was of flour and water, having an orange color.