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Mother's Day, or Mothering Sunday, is quite different from the American Mother's Day and is not
celebrated on the same day. The American celebration honouring mothers in May is not celebrated
in Ireland or Europe. Mothering Sunday is mid-Lent Sunday, the halfway point when the faithful
were suffering under the rigours of the Lenten observance, therefore as a gesture of encouragement
the church decreed the day as one of special relaxation. In Ireland this has migrated to St. Patrick's Day.
Mothering Sunday seems to spring from the medieval custom of visiting the mother church on mid-Lent Sunday
while at the same time there were family reunions with special fare. Now Mother's Day is emerging more and
more to honour Mothers and is celebrated much the same way as Valentine's day with flowers and chocolates.
Father's Day is celebrated on the same day as the US and in much the same ways.
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