The Ascension of Our Lady
Description:
The Catholic Church accepts this as dogma (a truth beyond doubt) and celebrates it on August 15, beginning in the sixth century (and from the seventh century in Rome).
The celebration of the Assumption of the Virgin was established during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Mauritius - from 582. This holiday, preceded by the two-week Assumption Fast, is celebrated throughout the Christian world. He reminds us that death is not the annihilation of our being, but only the transition from corruption and destruction to eternal immortality.
The Assumption of the Virgin is often called the Feast of St. August in Spain. The Virgin or Virgin of August. During the holiday there are church services, religious processions, public festivities take place, sometimes performances are given in the form of religious mysteries.
In the city of Elche (Alicante province) on August 14 and 15 in the Basilica of St. Mary, a traditional religious and theatrical performance is given - auto (misterio) with an impressive finale of the crowning of the Virgin Mary. Every year on the day of the Assumption, thousands of pilgrims gather here for the feast. Several costumed youths represent 11 apostles in the cathedral, and one of them is dressed as a Madonna and sings a hymn. The next day, a statue of the Madonna is carried through the streets.
For almost seven centuries, with universal enthusiasm, the inhabitants of Elche have preserved the form and spirit of the Elch mystery, which authentically recreates the world of medieval religious drama. In the 12th and 16th centuries, dramas on biblical themes (mysteries) were widely performed in France, England and Spain. These productions, in which hundreds of actors took part, sometimes lasted several days in a row, and in the course of them the most complex scenery and equipment were used. In the Middle Ages, such mysteries were played out in many cathedrals of European cities. In Elche since the 14th century, on August 14 and 15 every year, a medieval mystery is put on the occasion of the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin.
August 15 staged solemn burial of the Virgin Mary and laying on her crown. All this happens to the applause and cheering cries of the crowd. At this moment, the organ plays, bells ring, fireworks lights flash. This wedding on the kingdom, or rather, the moment when the crown descends from above on the head of the Virgin, is the end of the celebration, which then passes into a folk festival.
One of the features of the mystery is that its participants belong to different age groups. It employs parishioners of all ages, united by a common enthusiasm. Children and adolescents, for example, play, according to medieval tradition, female roles. The tradition that the female role was played by a boy was not unique to medieval religious plays. In Shakespeare’s time in England and some other countries, female roles were usually played by boys.
In the Elch mystery, the Virgin Mary is depicted by a 10- to 12-year-old teenager. He also recites and sings texts composed specifically for this celebration. Deep roots connect the mystery with the inhabitants of Elche. Every year hundreds of families of the city take part in this spectacular performance.
The combination of Arab-Muslim architecture, palm trees and blue Mediterranean skies is somewhat reminiscent of the setting in which Christianity was born. This explains why Elche is sometimes called the “Spanish Jerusalem.”
No less famous is the religious mystery dedicated to the August Virgin in La Al Berca (Salamanca), which is played out in the open air in the square in front of the church. In Vinues (province of Soria) played a comic battle for the possession of the image of the Virgin Mary.
In general, this holiday is associated with a lot of purely folk traditions. Some researchers believe that the roots of this holiday are associated with ancient agricultural rites, with harvesting, and that the Virgin Mary replaced another more ancient image of the goddess of fertility.