Mother's Day Lesson

Mother’s Day in Great Britain

In many places around the world people celebrate mothers’ day on various days because the day has a number of different origins.

In Britain there is also a holiday which people call Mother's Day.

In the old days many girls from poor families in the country worked in rich houses. They did all the house work and their working day was usually very long. They often worked on Sundays, too. Once a year, it was usually a Sunday in March, they could visit their mothers. They went home on that day and brought presents for their mothers and for other members of their families. They could stay at home only one day and then they went back to their work. People called that day Mothering Day or Mothering Sunday.

Later workers at the factories and girls who worked in the houses of rich families received one free day a week, and Mothering Day became Mother's Day.

On that day sons and daughters visit their mothers and bring them flowers and presents. The eldest son must bring his mother a good cake. If sons or daughters cannot be with their mother on that day, they usually send her presents. Mother's Day must be a day of rest for the mother of the family, so her daughters cook the dinner on that day and the sons help to wash the dishes.

Now Mother's Day in Britain is the second Sunday in May. In the United States and Canada Mother's Day is also the second Sunday in May.

QUESTIONS

Where did the girls from poor families work?

What day could they visit their mothers?

How did people call that day?

When do people celebrate Mother's Day in Great Britain?

How do people celebrate this holiday in the UK?

How do children respect their mothers on that day?

When do they celebrate Mother's Day in the USA and Canada?

What is the difference between celebrating Mother's Day in English-speaking countries and in Russia?

SONG

When I was but a baby,

Long before I learned to walk,

While lying in my cradle,

I would try my best to talk.

It wasn’t long before I spoke,

And all the neighbors heard.

My folks were very proud of me

For “mother” was the word.

Although I’ll never lay a claim to fame,

I’m satisfied to sing her lovely name:

“M” is for the million things she gave me.

“O” means only that she’s growing old.

“T” is for the tears she shed to save me.

“H” is for her heart of purest gold.

“E” is for eyes, with love lights shining.

“R” means right, and right she’ll always be.

Put them altogether; they spell “mother”,

A word that means the world for me.

“M” is for the mercy she possesses

“O” means that I owe her all I own

“T” is for her tender sweet caresses

“H” is for her hands that made a home

“E” means everything she's done to help me

“R” means real and regular you see

Put them all together they spell mother

A word that means the world to me