MacPhail

THE claws of the most widespread, blatant and opportunistic commercialism are sunk deeply into the fibre of most annually celebrated occasions … and Mothering Sunday is no exception.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with giving the economy a boost with some old customs but it is important that, as with other such recurring events of celebration, the pressures inflicted on us by the mighty worlds of advertising don’t eclipse the sentiments of what these times of goodwill are all about.

Although the origins of Mothering Sunday, which takes place each year on the fourth Sunday of Lent, differ from the more recent advent of Mothers’ Day in the United States, what it is celebrated in the UK today is more in line with the ingredients of the American counterpart.

Without the bombardment of marketing telling us we must buy flowers, cards, cakes, massages, spa days, Michelin-star meals, soaps, champagne and chocolate, it is undoubtedly very worthy to pay tribute and thanks to mothers across the land.

We should, of course, be grateful and show thanks to our mothers all the year round, but it is good, once a year, to have a widespread and collective concentration of minds on the work, the influence, the love, the care and encouragement that mothers give.

It is an ingrained failing and well-recognised folly of mankind that familiarity can mean we take those close to us for granted. Familiarity may not always breed contempt, but it can certainly breed a lack of appreciation for the attributes and actions of those closest to us.

The nature of the mother-child relationship means that it is probably the one that holds the most familiarity of all and therefore is often the one that carries the biggest risk in this context.

A day to appreciate mothers can be very powerful in recalibrating our thoughts and remind us to be grateful and to appreciate our mums. By chance, this year, on the weekend of Mothering Sunday, my own Cailleach was being interviewed and filmed for a student documentary about her and I was asked to play a few tunes and add a few words to it.

This, coupled with the sentiments of the day, made it very enjoyable to think about all she has done and continues to do for me.

As I was being filmed outside the house at Skipinnish on Tiree, talking about her writing and her character, I felt very proud of her and grateful that she was my mother.

She is definitely not one to enjoy praise, particularly publicly and certainly not in this article. However, I will say this. Whatever the attributes and flaws that I may have and to whatever degree I am a good or a bad person, there is no doubt that without her influence, I would be a great deal worse.

That is the common case with mothers everywhere and it is as worthy an aspect of life as any we could ever celebrate.