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When is the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary celebrated in 2022
The Assumption of the Virgin in Christianity is the day of the death of Mary, the mother of the Savior. Sometimes it is even called the second Easter. The date of the holiday is the same every year – in Orthodoxy it is 28 August.
History of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The word “assumption” is translated from Old Slavonic as “peaceful death” or “sleep” in another meaning. It would seem that the Assumption is the day of death, why then is it considered a holiday, what can be joyful here? It is important to understand what exactly believers celebrate on August 28. This, of course, is not the very fact of the death of the Virgin. The event of “assumption” symbolizes the reunion of the mother of Christ with God, her transition from earthly finite life to eternal heavenly existence.
At the same time, none of the four Gospels contains a description of the Assumption of the Mother of God. They do not say anything at all about what happened to Mary after the Ascension of Jesus. Some information about her earthly life and death is contained only in the Apocrypha (non-canonical religious texts that are not part of the Old and New Testaments). According to them, the archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary during prayer and told her that she would soon appear before God. Three days later, the Mother of God died, saying goodbye to her relatives and apostles, who specially gathered from different parts of the world in Jerusalem to see her off.
Traditions of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In Orthodoxy, the Assumption of the Virgin is one of the 12 twelfth (main) holidays. It is preceded by a strict Assumption Fast, which lasts two weeks from August 14 to 27.
In the suburb of Jerusalem, Gethsemane, where, according to legend, the tomb of Mary is located, a special Service is performed for the burial of the Mother of God on the Assumption. At the place of her burial, an underground temple was built – a basilica, to which 50 steps lead.
During Assumption services, priests wear blue robes. This color belongs to the colors of the Mother of God and symbolizes heavenly purity and purity. Festive services begin with an all-night vigil. In churches on the eve of the Assumption, a shroud with the image of the Virgin is taken out from the altar to the faithful. With her, a procession is made around the church, after which all those praying are anointed with oil. In Orthodoxy, the holiday is also praised by a special akathist (chant).
On this day, the Dormition Fast ends. However, if August 28 falls on a Wednesday or Friday, believers are still not allowed to eat meat and dairy products – only fish.
Signs on the Dormition
At the end of August, the Slavs celebrated the feast of the harvest – Obzhinki. With the adoption of Christianity, instead of them, a reference to the Mother of God and as a sign of her veneration appeared “Ladies”. Ears of new bread were brought to the church in order to consecrate them and thereby bless the peasant labor.
And on August 29, the Walnut Savior, or the feast of the Transfer from Edessa to Constantinople of the Image of Christ Not Made by Hands, came. They collected nuts in the forests, began to make preparations for the winter, tried to sow winter crops by this time. “See off the Assumption – meet autumn,” there was a saying. In the houses for the first time they “blew up a fire” – they sat down to dine by the light of a torch or a candle.
According to popular beliefs, it was believed that the Dormition is the last day of the departure of the swallows, and from that moment the frogs stop croaking.
BTW
In Our Country, it is in honor of the Assumption that most cathedrals and temples are consecrated. According to one version, this happened due to the desire of medieval architects to build in the likeness of the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. In addition, according to a number of culturologists, in the Orthodox tradition, belief in the intercession of the Mother of God for everyone who prayed to her before God was very common.
The oldest Assumption Cathedral is located in Vladimir, it was built by order of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky in the middle of the XNUMXth century. It was painted by Andrei Rublev himself, together with another famous master, his friend, Daniil Cherny. Fragments of their frescoes on the walls of the temple have survived to this day, and the icons that Rublev and Cherny created for the cathedral in Vladimir are now kept in the Tretyakov Gallery.