little gift to their mothers on this day to 
receive from her, in return, a frunn nty, or 
to receive her blessing; hence, the action 
was called, “going a mothering” while the 
day itself, was styled “Mothering Sunday.” 
Going a mothering is said to come from the 
the custom of going to the mother church 
on Mid-Lent Sunday to make offerings at 
the high altar. These offerings are now 
made at Easter. 
We have stated that the day has also for 
its name Refreshment Sunday doubtless 
because the gospel for that day treats of 
our Saviour’s miraculously feeding five 
thousand; or else from the first lesson in 
the morning which gives us the story of 
Joseph entertaining his brethren. 
An authority tells us that Rose Sunday 
was a name given it because on that day 
the Pope carried a golden rose in his hand, 
which he exhibited on his way to and from 
Mass. 
Before leaving these- customs we must 
not forget to mention one which, though 
not pertaining to England and its rural 
populations, is nevertheless worthy of re¬ 
cording and bears some resemblance to 
some of the preceding ones. 
On Mid-Lent Sunday at Seville, there is 
■a usage, evidently the remains of an old 
custom. Children of all ranks, poor and 
gentle, appear in the streets fantastically 
dressed, somewhat like English chimney¬ 
sweepers on May-Day, with caps of gilt and 
colored paper, and coats made of the 
crusade bulls of the preceding year. Dur¬ 
ing the whole day they make an incessant 
din with drums and rattles, and cry: ‘Saw 
down the old woman!’ At midnight, 
parties of the commonalty parade the 
streets, knock at every door, repeat the 
same cries, and conclude by sawing in two 
ithe figure of an old woman representing 
JLent. This division is emblematical of 
Mid-Lent.” 
“Care Sunday is the fifth Sunday from 
Shrove Tuesday, consequently" it is the next 
Sunday before Palm Sunday and second 
before Easter,” so the old almanacs tell us, 
and the people were wont to say on this 
day, 
“Care Sunday: care away, 
Palm Sunday and Easter day,” 
as though they were growing a little weary 
of Lent. There have been many and diverse 
opinions as to the meaning of this word 
used in this sense. The Catholic church 
call it Passion Sunday, as relating to the 
care and suffering of the Redeemer. But as 
it is also called Carle Sunday and Carling 
Sunday, it is probably derived from that. 
Now the presents at fairs are called in 
England, cartings, and as on this day, 
“peas, after being steeped a night in water, 
are fried with butter, given away and 
eaten at a kind of entertainment,” what less 
probable that the word carling might have 
been called carlen until finally shortened 
into Carle. It is also said that Carle in 
former days meant a working man, and as 
these working men received the present, 
and the entertainment was for their benefit, 
could not this have been a Sunday for the 
Carle, and to save breath, people clipped 
the word into “care,” and so the word has 
come down to us ? The custom of steeping 
peas, parching and eating them on the 
afternoon of this day, arose from the idea 
of the disciples plucking the ears of corn 
and rubbing them in their hands. 
The custom of Wetting the Block is a 
peculiar one, and one well worth quoting 
here. “The first Monday in March being 
the time when shoemakers in the country 
cease working by candle-light, it used to be 
customary for them to meet together in the 
evening for the purpose of “wetting the 
block.” On these occasions the master 
either provided a supper for his men, or 
made them a present of money or drink; 
the rest of the expense was defrayed by 
subscriptions among themselves, and some¬ 
times by donations from customers. After 
the supper was ended, the block candle¬ 
stick was placed in the midst; the shop 
candle was lighted, and all the glasses 
being filled, the oldest hand in the shop 
poured the contents of his glass over the 
candle to extinguish it; the rest then drank 
the contents of theirs, standing, and gave 
three cheers. The meeting was usually 
kept up to a late hour. What this signified 
I cannot say, but such meetings usually 
ended in a drunken row, and, seems to me, 
the conclusion may have meant that the 
block-heads of tipplers needed wetting. 
