Laetare Sunday

Laetare Sunday/Mid lent Sunday/Mothering Sunday

The fourth Sunday in Lent, or Mid-Lent, has many different names.
It's Liturgical name is "Laeter" of "Rejoice" Sunday, from the first words of the Liturgy for that day:
"Rejoice, O Jerusalem,"
Many Christians over the centuries rejoiced, among other things that Lent was now half over.

The English name for this day is "Mothering Sunday."
This term arose from a custom connected with the ancient idea of the Church--"Jerusalem"-- as our Mother.
On this day, Christians have traditionally gone to the church in which they had been baptised and confirmed in, to their Mother Church. And on this day it has also been a custom for people to visit their own mothers.
Servants, apprentices and children in boarding school were even given a special holiday to do this.
You took your mother flowers and a cake, and asked for her maternal blessing.
The cake was called a "Simnel," from the fine-quality white flour (Latin simila) with which it was made.

The great seventeenth-century poet Robert Herrick put it nicely:
I'll to thee a Simnel bring
'Gainst thou go'st a-Mothering
So that, when she blesseth thee,
Half that blessing thou'lt give me.

This was thus the original --the Christian--Mother's Day.
From A Continual Feast: Evelyn Birge Vitz

This Sunday in Lent is a day of joy within the mourning season. The altars may be decorated with flowers, organ playing is permitted, and the priests may wear rose-colored vestments instead of purple. The reason for such display of joy is explained in a sermon by Pope Innocent III (1216):
"On this Sunday, which marks the middle of Lent, a measure of consoling
relaxation is provided, so that the faithful may not break down under the severe strain of Lenten fast but may continue to bear the restrictions with a refreshed and easier heart."[31]I
We will be celebrating today with a few ideas:
We are having Sizzle steak and veges for the meal with Rose coloured juice to drink.
Father Pine will be wearing his Rose coloured vestments.
We will decorate with some roses , I don't think we have any left in the garden, so we have to use the artificial ones.
Perhaps depending on time we will make some rose decorations for the table to add to our collection of feast day items.
If the little ones are bored I will give them a colouring page of some roses and I am thinking we can do a CGS presentation on the Chasubles.
I would love to make some rose topped cupcakes but think we will not this year, perhaps next year instead.

We WILL also be making a Simnel Cake, however I don't want to make the traditional fruit cake (ideas below):
In Britain, known as the Shrewsbury Simnel, it is simply made using white flour, fragrant spices and is generously studded with dried fruits and pungent peel. Like a Christmas cake, it is covered with pale sweet almond paste. The decoration is plain - eleven little balls of smooth paste which represent the apostles (omitting Judas).
Decorate it with crystallised flowers and tie some yellow ribbon around the side.

But we will use this great idea from Catholic Culture:

Bake yellow cake mix in two deep 8-inch layer cake pans. When the layers are cool, split them crosswise to make four layers. Now put the layers together with an almond-flavored butter cream frosting. Cover top and sides with a fluffy white frosting made with a packaged mix, keeping it smooth. Then, with the pastel tinted frostings that come in pressurized cans equipped with 4 interchangeable tips, decorate the top and sides with flowers, leaves, and ribbons in a pattern of your own making.

These are some more interesting Links for further reading:
Fisheaters
Catholic Culture and Catholic Culture again and a third time
Jen from Family in Feast and Feria has a wonderful post on Laetare Sunday as well

I pray you all have a very blessed Laetare Sunday ♥

Blessings,