considered important by the people that these children, staying
away from their families be allowed to visit their homes once in a year. The time decided for the annual visit to home was middle Sunday of the fasting period of Lent (which lasts from Ash Wednesday to Easter). For this reason, the day was called 'Refreshment Sunday' or 'Mid-Lent Sunday'.
In England the day dedicated for mothers was more commonly called Mothering Sunday as people, mainly children visited their 'Mother Church' or the church of their home and not the 'Daughter Church', the closest church in the vicinity.
After paying a visit to church, children met their mothers and presented them flowers, which they gathered from bushes along the way. Girls baked special cakes called 'Simnel Cakes' for their mothers.
History of Mother's Day in England
The tradition of celebrating Mothers Day began much earlier in England than it started in USA. In fact England was the first country in the world to dedicate a day for mothers as early as 1600s. They called this day for mothers as 'Mothering Sunday'. The festival has its roots in the practice wherein poor people in England send their little children to work as domestic servants or apprentice with the rich.