《闲话英伦》－你知道今天是英国母亲节吗？

Britain under the Microscope – Mother’s Day

·      In the UK, we celebrate Mother’sDay on a different day to the US and China

o   Celebrated in February andMarch – the last Sunday before Easter

·      We give Mother’s Day cards andflowers to our mums (carnations/daffodils)

o   Take them out for Sunday lunch orbring them breakfast in bed if you are quite young – generally mums get aday-off!

·      There are fewer housewives thanin the past.

o   The majority are ‘working mums’(around 74% in 2017)     

o   Housework is generally sharedbut mums still generally do the most

·      In Britain, we normally callour mothers – mum (mama or mummy are normally what babies or young childrenwould say)

o   Mummy’s boy – a boy who is tooclose to their mum

·      Other Expressions with mum ormother

o   “A mother hen”

o   “to keep mum” or “Mum’s theword”

§  But these are nothing to do with mothers – mum is an old Englishword for silent (cf. murmur/mumbling – talking softly or quietly

o   “the mother of all (something)– the most extreme/largest of something

o   “mother tongue”

o   motherland?