The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On the feast of Ascension, houses are decorated with flowers and herbsAugust 15 is the feast of the Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God. According to tradition, the Mother of God spent the rest of her days in the house of John the Theologian, one of Christ’s favorite disciples.

At her death, all the apostles were present except Thomas, who could not arrive until the third day. The apostles opened the tomb, but found only many flowers in it. This is what the tradition of consecrating plants in churches is about.

The number of herbs that made up the bouquet, which were carried to the church for consecration, was different: from nine to seventy-seven. If such a bouquet was composed of nine varieties of herbs, then there must have been such herbs as “heavenly heat”, basil, yarrow, St. John’s wort, valerian, arnica, thyme, mullet and golden-thousander. After the solemn mass, bundles of herbs were reverently carried home and preserved until the next day of the Assumption: they were hung in the house above the door of the living room, put in the “God’s Corner”, attached to a beam in household premises. This tradition continues in Austria today.

Also on the feast of the Ascension, houses are decorated with flowers and herbs, solemn processions, divine services and theatrical performances are arranged.

By the way, from this day until the day of Our Lady’s Nativity (September 8), a period of time called the women’s thirty-day period (Frauendreißígst) began. It was believed that during this period the earth received the blessing of the mother of God.