Make March 14th 2010 a memorable one, with a chance to say “Thank You” to our Mums!

[table "6" seems to be empty /]

Meals for Mothering Sunday: Mothers’ Day Menu

Sunday 14th March 2010, Shelly’s Restaurant presents a special Mothers’ Day Menu for Mothering Sunday!

Starters:
Cream of Watercress & Potato Soup
Three Melon Cocktail, fresh mint leaf laced with Cointreau syrup
Sautéed Mushrooms in Peppercorn sauce with melted stilton cheese
Prawn Cocktail with brown bread & butter


Mains:
Pan Fried Fillet of Chicken in Chasseur Sauce
Roast Top side Beef, Yorkshire pudding
Aga Roasted Pork Loin with apple sauce
Poached Salmon with a creamy Champagne sauce
Roast Vegetable & Brie Tart

All mains served with Potatoes and fresh seasonal Vegetables

Puddings:
Desserts
Cheese and biscuits
Liqueur Coffee, Cappuccino, Tea

Address:
Shelly’s Restaurant
8 Bold Street
Warrington
Cheshire
WA1 1DR

Tel: 01925 654000
Links:
Shelly’s Restaurant Website
Shelly’s Restaurant on Blogspot

Although Mothering Sunday has become synonymous with the American Mother’s Day and brash commercialism, the tradition of honouring mothers in the UK with gifts, tokens, and appreciation goes back hundreds of years with roots in pagan festivals and Christian liturgy.

The holiday has been adopted internationally: in the US, the date of the second Sunday in March was chosen to reflect the dates of celebrations around the world; in Catholic countries the day is related to Virgin Mary Day; in Islamic countries the date is the birthday of the daughter of the prophet Mohammed.

Other countries use the date of International Women’s Day, but wherever it is celebrated in the world, and whatever it is called, the underlying concept of Mother’s Day is the same: it honours the special contribution that our mothers make in our lives.

A History of Mothering Sunday

In ancient times the Celts celebrated the goddess of childbirth Brigid, renowned for her goodness and compassion. The Greeks held a springtime festival in honour of Cybele, a goddess known as the Great Mother, whose over-enthusiastic followers used to castrate themselves and assume female identities. The Romans also had a holiday on the first of March called Matronalia, dedicated to the Goddess Juno, the patroness of marriage and mother of Mars, Minerva and Vulcan.

It’s possible that some elements of these ancient traditions were adopted by the Christian Church: ceremonies in honour of Cybele evolved into services in honour of the Virgin Mary; the words “Mother Goddess” became “Mother Church”; the name used for the largest church in the diocese, or the church of a person’s baptism, and people who visited their church of baptism on the fourth Sunday in Lent were said to have gone “a mothering.”

By the sixteenth century, Mothering Sunday had become part of the liturgical calendar in Christian denominations including Anglican and Catholic. The day was also known as Refreshment Sunday or Mid Lent Sunday, when the strict fasting rules of the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter were relaxed. This was in remembrance of the New Testament story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, when Jesus fed a multitude with five loaves and two fishes, and sermons and readings had the theme of food.

Mothering Sunday was also the day when hundreds of young men and women who worked in service were allowed an annual visit home to see their family: employers allowed girls to take a gift of eggs or flowers from the gardens, or they could bake a cake to take home with them. Often walking back to their villages through the meadows, young men would collect bunches of wild flowers as a gift – hence the idea was born of showing appreciation to the mother in the form of presents and pampering.

The cake baked was usually a Simnel Cake, and Mothering Sunday was also known as Simnel Sunday. This rich fruit cake, with an almond marzipan filling and topping, was decorated with 11 marzipan balls to represent the twelve apostles of Jesus – minus Judas who had betrayed him.

Now more commonly made for Easter, the legend is that a couple named Simon and Nell argued about whether the fruit cake should be baked or boiled; ultimately they decided to do both, and the cake was named in remembrance of them: Sim + Nell.

The Modern Mothering Sunday

The tradition of Mothering Sunday was brought to a halt with the advent of the industrial revolution when fewer people were employed in service, but started to be celebrated again after the Second World War.

By now the celebration of Mother’s Day had been adopted in America, and the English Mothering Sunday became known by the same name and took on a more commercialised character.

In 1870, the pacifist and feminist Julia Ward Howe had written a Mother’s Day Proclamation in reaction to the bloodshed of the American Civil War, in which she called for people to celebrate Mother’s Day. Linked with the feminist belief that women should become involved with politics and bring about the end of war, the idea was adopted by Anna Jarvis who, after holding a memorial to her own dead mother, created the concept of a national Mother’s Day and founded the Mother’s Day International Association.

In 1914 the holiday was inaugurated by President Woodrow Wilson.

Today you can visit the International Mother’s Day Shrine in Grafton, West Virginia, where Mary lived since childhood. Ironically she herself neither married nor had children, and ended up campaigning against the very holiday she had helped to create, which she said had become too cynical.

Leeds Events 2010

Ring 0161 273 3469 for more information

Learn more about Arley Hall and Gardens, Cheshire

Arley Hall & Gardens

http://www.arleyhallandgardens.com/
Estate Office
Northwich
Cheshire
CW9 6NA
Tel: 01565 777353
Fax: 01565 777465

Arley Plant Nursery: 01565 777479
enquiries@arleyhallandgardens.com

Ring Sue Ellams 01565 777353 for further event information

Click here for Arley Hall Opening Times and Admission Prices