Although the entire world celebrates Mother’s Day on different dates throughout the year with a range of traditions taking place, the British celebration is the longest standing. Here are some interesting numbers for Mother’s Day celebrations in the UK.
Mums by numbers
25 years – The average age of a first-time mum
2 billion – The current number of mums in the world, all of which will be spoilt this Mother’s Day we hope!
1.9% – The average number of children per household. Let’s round that up to 2 kids, shall we!
4 – The number of babies though to be born every second in the world. That’s four more people who have to buy Mother’s Day gifts every second!
101 years – The age of the Mother’s Day tradition this year
More about Mother’s Day
While that summarises this special occasion in numbers simply and effectively, there is much more to Mother’s Day than a string of figures.
For us Brits, the holiday traces all the way back to the 16th Century. During this time, Sunday was the day that most if not all people would visit their local church and everyone was expected to return to their ‘mother church’ at least once a year.
Typically this occurred during the middle of Lent and eventually, the day became a time for families to get together and enjoy each other’s company as well as visiting their ‘mother church’.
Children who were working away from home – normally as servants – were allowed that one day off work to see their family. During this time, it was common for kids as young as 10 years old to go to work and this meant that the whole family was reunited.
Most historians believe that it is this tradition from Lent that led to the idea of Mothering Sunday in Britain – explaining why we celebrate it earlier in the year than most other countries – but the tradition doesn’t begin and end here.
Here are some other facts about Mother’s Day you probably didn’t know:
- The concept dates back to the Ancient Greeks who honored Rhea: Mother of the Gods
- Simnel cake was the most common present during Mother’s Day in the 17th Century
- Mother’s Day is the busiest day of the year for restaurants
- There are more phone calls on Mother’s Day than any other time of the year
- The most popular day for women to become mothers is on a Tuesday
And, because we’re psychic, here are eight things we bet you’ve never thanked your mum for:
- Your manners. Please and thank you never hurt anyone you know
- Making you stay in school so you could get that fancy job, lucky you
- Teaching you what a vitamin is (and that you can buy them as tablet supplements)
- Being a shoulder to cry on after heartbreak. Thanks, mum and sorry for the soggy blouse
- Doing your dirty washing … a week after week … year after year … no matter how bad the smell
- Letting you have a pet which you vowed to look after but probably grew bored of in one week
- Giving your siblings … who got you blamed for everything and who you wouldn’t be without
- Being your number one supporter in everything you do, no matter how embarrassing at the time
Correct this crime now and thank you, mums, for all this and more on Mother’s Day – they’ll never forgive you if you don’t.
After all, as a Jewish proverb says: God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.
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