Bible Dictionaries
Mothering Sunday

The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia

A popular name used in England for the Fourth Sunday in Lent. It is supposed to have derived this name from the Epistle for the Day in which occur the words "Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the Mother of us all." This no doubt gave rise to the custom in England of making pilgrimages to the Mother Church of the Diocese, i.e., the Cathedral. This Sunday also became a holiday on which young persons in service were permitted to visit their mothers in their homes. (See FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT; also LENT, SUNDAYS IN.)

Bibliography Information
Miller, William James. Entry for 'Mothering Sunday'. The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​acd/​m/mothering-sunday.html. 1901.