Nativity of Mary

The Nativity of Mary, or Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to the traditional birthday of Saint Mary.

The modern canon of scripture does not record Mary's birth. The earliest known account of Mary's birth is found in the Protoevangelium of James (5:2), an apocryphal text from the late second century, with her parents known as Saint Anne and Saint Joachim.^[2]

In the case of saints, the Church commemorates their date of death, with Saint John the Baptist and the Virgin Mary as the few whose birth dates are commemorated. The reason for this is found in the singular mission each had in salvation history,^[3] but traditionally also because these alone (besides the prophet Jeremiah, Jer 1:5) were holy in their very birth (for Mary, see Immaculate Conception; John was sanctified in Saint Elizabeth's womb according to the traditional interpretation of Lk 1:15).

Traditional account

The "Protoevangelium of James", which was probably put into its final written form in the early second century, describes Mary's father Joachim as a wealthy member of one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. He and his wife Anne were deeply grieved by their childlessness.^[4]

Pious tradition places Mary's birthplace in Jerusalem.^[5]

Feast day

Tradition celebrates the event as a liturgical feast in the General Roman Calendar and in most Anglican liturgical calendars on 8 September, nine months after the solemnity of her Immaculate Conception, celebrated on 8 December. The Eastern Orthodox likewise celebrate the Nativity of the Theotokos on 8 September.

This feast, like that of the Assumption of Mary, originated in Jerusalem. It began in the fifth century as the feast of the Basilica Sanctae Mariae ubi nata est, now called the Basilica of Saint Anne. The original church built, in the fifth century, was a Marian basilica erected on the spot known as the shepherd's pool and thought to have been the home of Mary's parents.^[2] In the seventh century, the feast was celebrated by the Byzantines as the feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The feast is also celebrated by Syrian Christians on 8 September^[6] and by Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox Christians on 9 May (1 Bashans, EC 1 Ginbot). At Rome the Feast began to be kept toward the end of the 7th century, brought there by Eastern monks.^[3] The feast is also included in the Tridentine Calendar for 8 September.

The winegrowers in France called this feast "Our Lady of the Grape Harvest". The best grapes are brought to the local church to be blessed and then some bunches are attached to hands of the statue of Mary. A festive meal which includes the new grapes is part of this day.^[7]

The scene was frequently depicted in art, as part of cycles of the Life of the Virgin. Late medieval depictions are often valuable records of domestic interiors and their fittings - at this period the setting was often in a wealthy household.

In Islamic scripture

The birth of Mary is narrated in the third sura (chapter) of the Qur'an with references to her father Imran, after whom the chapter is named, as well as her mother, Hannah. Hannah prayed to God to fulfil her desire to have a child^[8] and vowed, if her prayer was accepted, that her child (whom she initially thought would be male) would be dedicated to the service of God. She prayed for her child to remain protected from Satan (Shayṭān) and Muslim tradition records a hadith, which states that the only children born without the "touch of Satan", were Mary and Jesus.^[9]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Birth of Mary.

External links

• Nativitatis Beatae Mariae Virginis
• Roten S.M., Johann G., The History of the Liturgical Celebration of Mary's Birth
• "Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary", Foley O.F.M., Leonard. Saint of the Day, Franciscan Media
• Holweck, Frederick. "Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 7 Aug. 2013