In England, Mothering Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent, was a day when young people who lived away from home while working as apprentices or domestics received a holiday to visit their parents. It was a day not only to visit their home church with gifts, but also to visit their own mothers carrying gifts of flowers, candies and usually the traditional Simnel or “A-Mothering Cake.”
The name Simnel (a fine flower) comes from the Latin siminellus, a Roman festival bread eaten during spring fertility rites. Also, from Greek and Roman mythology is the ancient custom of honoring motherhood. The spring festival of the Greeks honor Rhea, mother of the gods. The Romans’ festival was called Hilaria or “Mother of the gods.” On this day, people made offerings in the Temple of Cybele, the gifts becoming the property of the priests.
The pagan festival was adopted by the early Christians to uplift them during the Lenten fast. It was a day devoted to “Mother Church” when processions were held and small gifts were given to mothers, such as cakes. Visiting the cathedral, or Mother Church, was inspired by the reference in the Epistle read on the fourth Sunday of Lent: “That Jerusalem which is above, is free which is our Mother” (Galatians 4:26).
It was much later, during the 18th and 19th centuries, this religious observance became known as Mothering Sunday, and the traditional cake was the Simnel cake.
The early Simnel cakes were topped with candied violets, thus the saying, “He who goes a-mothering finds violets in the lane.”
Mothering Sunday is still celebrated in parts of England and Simnel cakes are still a prized gift for mothers. Usually, Simnel cakes are rich fruit cakes with layers of marzipan, but there are variations from county to county.
The most well known varieties are those from Shrewsbury, Devizes and Bury. The Shrewsbury cake is filled with plum pudding, boiled, brushed with an egg and baked until the crust is hardened. The Devizes cake is star-shaped without a crust, while Bury’s cake is flat with fluted edges, crustless and decorated in marzipan frosting. Bury’s cake is tinned and mailed to other countries where English people still celebrate Mothering Sunday.
Although elaborately decorated Simnel cakes are still made in England, the Mothering Sunday custom had declined in some areas. During World War II while American soldiers were stationed in Great Britian, they confused Mothering Sunday with Mother’s Day. Today, the day is somewhat commercialized, as in America, and is celebrated in May, not during Lent.
Mother’s Day in North America was initiated by Miss Anna Jarvis, a Philadelphia schoolteacher, in 1908, who apparently had not heard of the English Mothering Sunday.
Whether in North American or England, or any other county, the poet Herrick best describes the feeling one receives when honoring mothers:
“I’le to thee a Sinmel bring,’Gainst thou go’st a mothering,
So that, when she blesseth thee,
Half that blessing thou’lt give me.”
The following is a recipe for Simnel Cake from Around the World with the Trapp Family, by Maria Augusta Trapp.
Simnel Cake
* 3/4 butter* 1 cup currants
* 2 cups sugar* 1/3 cup shredded
* 4 eggs* Lemon and orange peel
* 2 cups flour* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* Almond pasteCream the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Sift the flour and salt and add to the first mixture. Dust the peel and currants with a little flour and add to the batter. Line cake tin with waxed paper and pour in half the dough. Add a layer of almond paste and remaining dough. Bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. Ice with a thin white icing, flavored with a few drops of almond extract.
Carole Christman Koch grew up in Berks County and has been published in numerous publications. She has a passion for writing and has many stories from growing up on a farm to everyday stories.
