Constance Adelaide Smith (28 April 1878 – 10 June 1938, published under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

C. Penswick Smith) was an Englishwoman responsible for the reinvigoration of Mothering Sunday in the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

in the 1910s and 1920s.

Biography

Smith was born in Dagnall, Buckinghamshire. She was one of seven children of the

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

clergyman, Charles Penswick Smith, who was vicar of Dagnall at the time of her birth and was vicar of Coddington, Nottinghamshire from 1890 to his death in 1922. She was a

High Church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...

Anglican, and all four of her brothers became Anglican priests. The details of her early life are not clear, but she worked as a governess in Germany in the late 19th century. By 1901 she was a dispenser of medicines at the Hospital for Skin Diseases in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

. She was a dispenser at the Girls' Friendly Society lodge in Regent Street, Nottingham from 1909. Smith was inspired by a newspaper article in 1913, on the plans of Anna Jarvis, an American woman from Philadelphia, who hoped to introduce Mother's Day in the USA. In 1914, US President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

made a proclamation establishing the second Sunday of May as the official date for the observance of a national day to celebrate mothers. Smith instead linked this concept to the Mothering Sunday, traditionally observed in the Anglican liturgical calendar on the fourth Sunday of Lent. She published a play, ''In Praise of Mother: A story of Mothering Sunday'' (1913), as well as ''A Short History of Mothering Sunday'' (1915), which went through several editions. Her most influential booklet was ''The Revival of Mothering Sunday'' (1921). She advocated for Mothering Sunday as a day for recognizing

Mother Church Mother church or matrice is a term depicting the Christian Church as a mother in her functions of nourishing and protecting the believer. It may also refer to the primary church of a Christian denomination or diocese, i.e. a cathedral church, or ...

, '

mothers A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestat ...

of earthly homes',

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, and Mother Nature, basing her work on

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

traditions. With Ellen Porter, a colleague from the Girls' Friendly Society lodge, Smith established a movement to promote Mothering Sunday, collecting and publishing information about the day and its traditional observance throughout the UK. This included research into local traditions, such as the making of simnel and wafer cakes. The movement established Mothering Sunday as a widely observed day throughout the British Empire; by the time of her death, the day was said to be observed in every parish in Britain, and every country in the British Empire. Smith never married and had no children. She died in Nottingham in 1938 from acute tonsillitis and streptococcal cellulitis of the neck. She was buried in Coddington churchyard beside her father on the left hand side of the main path walking up to the church. White marble crosses and bases hold their inscriptions and are easily visible. The lady chapel at All Saints', Coddington was dedicated to her memory in 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Constance Adelaide 1878 births 1938 deaths People from Newark and Sherwood (district) Burials in Nottinghamshire Deaths from streptococcus infection English Anglicans English governesses 19th-century English women writers 20th-century English women writers 20th-century English writers People from Aylesbury Vale Pseudonymous women writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers