Mother's Day 2022: When is Mother's Day 2022 in the UK, why do we celebrate it, and Mother's Day ideas

Here’s your timely reminder to get something sorted for Mother’s Day.

(Photo: Shutterstock)

Don’t panic if you’ve forgotten Mother’s Day this year – it’s easy enough to do, considering it doesn't have a set date and can fall on different dates each year.

Still, it’s time to get thinking for a suitable gift, card, and way to celebrate Mother’s Day in your family this year.

Here’s all you need to know about Mother’s Day.

(Photo: Shutterstock)

When is Mother's Day 2022?

This year Mother's Day falls on Sunday March 27th in the UK, with the date set by the celebration's Christian foundation as Mothering Sunday.

The celebration always takes place on the fourth Sunday in the festival of Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday.

Mother’s Day ideas

The main thing to remember for Mother’s Day is that it’s the thought that counts.

A simple card telling your mother you love her and are thinking about her will most likely be enough.

Some families do celebrate with gifts, sending flowers, chocolates, or other thoughtful presents.

If you have young children, you might also want to encourage your children to put something together, or organise something yourself for them to clumsily sign their name or leave a handprint on.

Some pet parents even do gifts to the human mothers of our beloved furry friends, which can be a lighthearted way to say thank you to your pet’s maternal figure.

Why do we celebrate Mother’s Day?

Technically, in the UK we celebrate Mothering Sunday and not Mother's Day - more on that in a bit - and initially, the "mothering" aspect of the occasion had no connection to mothers in the way that it's celebrated today.

Its origins lie 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.

Further down the line, the date took on a further celebratory air, becoming a traditional occasion for the fasting rules of Lent to be relaxed, allowing revellers a long-awaited feast.

For Mothering Sunday's transformation from church-related occasion to mum-honouring mega-holiday you seldom remember, we must look to America.

The American festival of Mother's Day - which is held later in the year and has no religious connotations - was created in 1907 by Anna Jarvis, who held a memorial for her peace activist mother who treated wounded soldiers in the American Civil War.

Jarvis campaigned for a day to honour the role played by mothers following her own mum's death, and the idea gained such traction that by 1911 all US states observed the holiday.

In 1914, it had become so ubiquitous that President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother's Day a national holiday "as a public expression of love and reverence for the mothers of our country".

Mother's Day rapidly became a major commercial opportunity, with Hallmark leading the way in manufacturing cards by the early 1920s.