It is a long-established celebration but has become especially popular in recent years. In medieval times it was the day on which people visited their 'mother' church, the cathedral of their diocese. Only in the mid -17th century did it become a day for acknowledging human mothers - perhaps it also became confused with Lady Day on the 25th March, which celebrates the Mother of God.  Special children's services are still held in many churches around the country on this day.
On Mothering Sunday it used to be the practice to visit one's own mother and give her gifts of flowers and cakes. People working in service away from home were given the day off by their employers - it was quite common in those days for live-in servants not to see their parents for months at a time. Traditionally, Simnel cakes were taken home and bunches of wild flowers such as violets and primroses.

 
I'll to Thee a simnel bring
'Gainst Thou go a mothering. 
So that when she blesses Thee, 
Half that blessing you'll give me.

ROBERT HERRICK

ST. DAVID is the patron saint of Wales, and the 1st March is the Welsh national day. St. David was a 2nd-century monk who founded the Abbey at St. David's, Pembrokeshire, following very strict and austere rules. He became an extremely popular saint, and his shrine was a major centre for pilgrimage in the 12th century.
The Welsh national emblems of the leek and daffodil are obscure in origin, but there are a number of popular theories. There is a story that David led the Welsh to victory against their Saxon foes wearing a leek so that he stood out in battle The daffodil is thought to have been chosen because it is like Dafydd, the Welsh name for David. Whatever the reasons, patriotic Welshmen traditionally wear a daffodil or leek on this day.

MARCH 2nd – St Chad (a popular saint in Norfolk)

MARCH 3rd– St Winnold (a popular saint in South-West England)

First comes David
Then comes Chad
Then comes Winnold, roaring like mad

MARCH 17th – St PATRICK’S DAY

ST. PATRICK is of course the patron saint of Ireland, and this day is an Irish national holiday. St. Patrick was the son of a Roman tax collector who lived in what is now South-east Wales. At the age of sixteen he was captured by raiders and sold into Irish slavery. Six years later he escaped to Gaul and entered the priesthood - determined to return to Ireland to convert his captors to Christianity. Within ten years he had established churches all over Ireland. He died there in 461 A.D.
The emblem of Ireland is the shamrock; according  to legend St. Patrick used a clover to convert the pagan King Loigaire to Christianity, by showing how the three separate leaves united by one stem resembled the Trinity.
 
 

They say there}s bread and work for all,
 And the sun shines always there: 
But I’ll not forget old Ireland, 
Were it fifty times as fair.