The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1915-03-25
MOTHERS DAY COMES
FROM ANCIENT CUSTOM.


Mothers Day has now become an
esta blished institution in the United
States, and is annually celebrated on
the second Sunday in May, while an
attempt has been made to grant sim
liar recognition to father on the first
Sunday in June. The observance in
honor of "the best mother who ever
Ilived-your own has been hailed as
an innovation, but it is by no means
new. In former times in England and
in colonial America Mothering Sunday
was popular festival, and was cele-
brated on the fourth Sunday in Lent,
Owing to the war an tempt has been
made in England to revive this ancient
practice, and it is likely that many
British soldiers at the front will on
this Sunday, visit in spirit, since they
cannot do so in body the mother who
| waits and prays for them at home.
Mothering Sunday in former times
was marked by the affectionate prac.
tice of paying visit to parents, and
particularly the feminine one, and the
presentation of gifts. Even in these
days the mother was honored above
the father, who had to play second
fiddle in the celebration of the day.
Poor old "Dad" still occupies the same
humble position in the estimate of
his children, for, while the attempt
! to establish Mothers Day in Amer
lea met with instant success and heart.
felt appreciation, the Fathers Day
project was granted with a chorus Of
jeers, and was chiefly useful as a sub
ject of witticism for the hard-driven
humorists of the press-many of them,
are themselves fathers.
"Going a-mothering' on mid Lent
Sunday was considered necessary
duty and pleasure by our ancestors.
1t was useful custom, for it helped
to keep alive the sentiments Of filial
love which are so often lacking in
the present generation. Rich and poor
went "a-mothering" on this day. Those
blessed with wealth provided hand
some gifts for their mothers, while
the poorest offered some trinket and
a cake as a symbol of devotion.
Many local customs and foods were
connected with Mothering Sunday. In
parts of England the chief dish at the
Mothering Sunday feast was called
furmety, and was made of whole
wheat grains boiled in milk, sweeten.
cd and Favored with spices. In Scot
land and the north Of England the
day was sometimes called CARING Sun
day, after a variety of pancakes called
earrings. Stewed peas fried in butter
also occupied place of honor on the
table. In Shropshire and Hereford
shire the simnel cake was an accom-
paniment to the dinner. This cake
was rlch and expensive, and hardly
suited to the digestion of moderns.
The simnel cake Of Motherng Sun
d9v &c boI
crust of which is made with the finest
of flour mixed with water, and colored
deep yellow. The interior Of the
cake has as filling the materials
which go to make the richest of plum
cakes or buildings. The connection
OF all sorts of indigestible goodies is
made very stiff, tied up in cloth,
and boiled several hours, after which
the cake is brushed over with egg.
and then baked. The crust is as hard
as IT made of solid mahogany, and
the interior contains the raw material
of, many nightmares.
Inc origin of the name simnel
has several explanations, but the most
amusing concerns poor couple nam
ed SIMON and Nelly, who lived in Eng
land many centuries ago. Their chill.
dren We're going to visit them on
Mothering Sunday, but their cupboard
was bare save for the remains Of some
Lenten dough and part of their
Christmas plum pudding. 1t was nee.
essary to have cake for the visitors.
SO Nelly made crust of the dough.
and Simon suggested that the plum
pudding be used as filling. The aged
couple disagreed violently as to wheth.
or the cake should be boiled or baked
Simon insisting upon boiling, while
his spouse declared that baking was
the proper treatment. Simon beat his
wife with broom to enforce his de.
mands, that being one of the unhappy
customs of husbands of that era, and
the spirited Nelly responded to this
argument by breaking stool over
Simon's head. At length they agreed
to compromise by both boiling and
then baking the cake. The brok.
en- stool and broom handle were used
for fuel, and the cake was duly boiled
and then baked, and some eggs which
had been broken in the fight were
used to coat the exterior. The chill.
dren were delighted with the cake.
and henceforth it Was known as sim.
mel cake, the "sim' being in homo,
OF Simon, and the "nel' standing for