Mothering Sunday in the UK is centuries old. It goes back to the time of early Christians in England who celebrated a Mothers festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent in honour of the Virgin Mary.
Mothering Sunday can also be traced to the fact that in early times people in England as a tradition visited their nearest parish called, "Daughter Church" on every Sunday.
Also in those times, in the 1600s, children after the age of ten left their homes for jobs as apprentice or domestic servants. It was considered important by the people that these children be allowed to visit their home and mother church once a year. Accordingly, once in a year, in the middle of the Lent the children were given a leave by their employers to visit their "Mother Church" or Cathedral of their hometown.
These children on their visit to their homes brought along gifts, flowers and special cakes for their mothers. These visits thus became a time for family reunions and over a period time, this holiday meant for the return to Mother Church was stretched to include all mothers and was named as Mothering Sunday.