Like many traditions and festivities, Mothering Sunday began with a religious purpose. Held on the fourth Sunday in Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday, it was a originally a day to honour and give thanks to the Virgin Mary, also known as Mother Mary.

The Gospel for the day is John 6:1–14, the story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, which prompted the association between Mothering Sunday and the 'Gifts of Mother Earth'.