When is Mother's Day 2024 and what are the origins behind the day?

Mother’s Day next year will come around faster than expected.

The celebratory day in 2024 will fall on Sunday, March 10 - a week earlier compared to this year's date.

The day, which is often known by its traditional and religious name of Mothering Sunday, is not a bank holiday and is the fourth Sunday of Lent.

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The origins of Mother’s Day can be dated back to ancient Greek times. The ancient Greeks dedicated an annual spring festival to maternal goddesses, and ancient Romans also celebrated a spring festival called Hilaria which was for a mother goddess called Cybele.

More recent origins of Mothering Sunday date back to the 1600s in England. Some stories claim people would return to their mother church - the church they were baptized in or attended services in when they were children - and this would bring together communities who hadn’t seen each other for a while.

Other stories argue the date was to honour mothers. A prayer service was also held in church for the Virgin Mary and children would bring gifts and flowers to pay tribute to their mothers. This day had almost died out completely by the 19th century.

In America, the idea of an official celebration for all mothers came in 1872 from activist, writer and poet, Julia Ward Howe.

She became famous for her Civil War song “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and suggested June 2 should be annually celebrated as Mother’s Day and a day dedicated to peace.

Julia also delivered a passionate appeal to women in 1870 in Boston and urged them to rise against war and initiated a Mothers’ Peace Day service on the second Sunday in June and annually held the meeting for a couple of