Mid-Lent Sunday
Preserved but no longer current.
The fourth Sunday in Lent. It is called dominica refectionis (Refection Sunday), because the first lesson is the banquet given by Joseph to his brethren, and the gospel of the day is the miraculous feeding of the five thousand. It is the day on which simnel cakes (q.v.) are eaten, and it is also called Mothering Sunday (#.v.).
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Mid-Lent Sunday” mean?
The fourth Sunday in Lent. It is called dominica refectionis (Refection Sunday), because the first lesson is the banquet given by Joseph to his brethren, and the gospel of the day is the miraculous feeding of the five thousand. It is the day on which simnel cakes (q.v.) are eaten, and it is also called Mothering Sunday (#.v.).
Is “Mid-Lent Sunday” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.