Day of the Holy Virgin. Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: interesting facts

We talk about the twelve feasts of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Troparion of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary:

Your Nativity, Virgin Mary, /
joy to bring to the whole universe: /
from Thee has arisen the Sun of righteousness, Christ our God, /
and having broken the oath, I gave a blessing, /
and having abolished death, he gave us eternal life.

Story:

About Christmas Holy Mother of God, which, as it is said in the troparion of the holiday, “announced the joy of the whole universe,” we know from the “Proto-Gospel of James” Apocryphon of the 2nd century. (Apocrypha are texts dedicated to events and persons of Sacred history that were not included by the Church in the biblical canon. Some of the apocrypha, although not included in the New Testament canon, clearly bear traces of the oral tradition of the first Christians. This text was called the “Proto-Gospel” because , that the events described in it precede the birth of Christ. - Ed.).

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The parents of the Mother of God, Joachim and Anna, were pious people and lived in love for each other. Only one misfortune darkened their lives: for long years their marriage never produced a child.

The Jews remembered the prophecies that the Messiah would arise from the seed of Abraham. That is why in every family the birth of a child was perceived as a chance to become involved in the One for whom all Israel had been waiting for more than one millennium. If the marriage was childless, then the Jews believed that the spouses had somehow angered God.

One day Joachim, already in old age, came to Jerusalem Temple to make a sacrifice. There, a certain Jew named Reuben addressed him reproachfully: “You cannot bring gifts, for you have not created descendants for Israel.” These words deeply wounded the righteous man, so that, leaving the temple, he did not go to his wife, but went into the desert, where he spent forty days and forty nights in unceasing prayer and fasting.

Anna, when she learned about the humiliation that her husband suffered in the temple, began to pray fervently, asking God to have mercy on them.
After forty days, an angel appeared to her and said: “Anna, Anna, the Lord has heeded your prayer, you will conceive and give birth, and your offspring will be talked about all over the world.” “As the Lord my God lives! - Anna answered, “And if I give birth to a child, I will give him as a gift to the Lord, and he will serve Him all his life.” Then the angel appeared in the desert to Joachim, turning to him with the words: “Joachim, Joachim, God has heeded your prayer. Go away from here, for your wife Anna will conceive in her womb.”

They met at the city gates. Anna, noticing her approaching husband, ran to meet him and hugged him tightly; together they went to the temple, where they made a generous sacrifice to God as a sign of gratitude. And nine months later, a girl appeared in the pious family, who was named Maria. It was she who was to give birth to the One for whom the people of Israel had been waiting for so long, who would erase the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15), defeat death and give everyone the opportunity to gain eternal life.

6 facts about the holiday:

1. History of the celebration

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2. The house where the Virgin Mary was born

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3. Who are the Godfathers?

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4. Temple in the Corner

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Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary- a bright day filled with grace. Today you can’t be angry or quarrel with loved ones. You can't do hard work. This is one of the great twelve holidays (the twelve most important holidays after Easter).

Today we offer sincere prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos, and she gives hope for better life. On this day, you need to say prayers not only with requests, but also with gratitude for all the mercies sent. Once upon a time, the day of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was considered the New Year, it was the day the harvest ended. Today it all starts with clean slate- this is what the ancient people believed.

This great holiday is a great consolation for all childless spouses. Christians believe that today the Mother of God will hear their prayers and will definitely give them a child.

Nativity of the Virgin Mary - 2018

The Bible does not say a word about the birth of the Mother of God. We know about the parents of the Mother of God from sacred tradition, and let this not confuse the believing reader. They were Jews, and Jews never forget family ties. The memory of an Orthodox Jew stores knowledge about many, many ancestors, right down to the ancestors of the Jewish tribes. So the names of the parents of the Mother of God are known: their names were Joachim and Anna.

These were elderly people who had experienced the cross of childlessness. The cross of childlessness is something completely incomprehensible to modern man. After all, those living today do not feel the responsibility to fulfill the commandment “Be fruitful and multiply.”

Joachim and Anna did not have children, but wanted this, and this is a terrible pain, this is a crucifixion and a cross for any Jewish family who dreams of participating in the approach of the Messiah.

With these sorrows, the Lord burned out pride and vanity from the souls of Anna and Joachim, and by the end of their lives they humbled themselves. They achieved righteousness, and then, when they could no longer pass on anything sinful to their offspring, they gave birth to a daughter.

The most precious child is the firstborn, usually born in youth. He is the very first, the most beloved, but he is also a victim of our life mistakes and passions, our inexperience...

But children born late are especially tender and sensitive, they are loved in a special way, and they are special in themselves. Such was the youth Mariam, future Mother of God, born from righteous men of old age.

On this day, the one who became the door was born, through which the Almighty was able to descend to Earth and become a man. That's what we're celebrating today.

Today it is worth thinking about the responsibilities of spouses, about family, about the spirit of mutual understanding and harmony that should reign in every family. After all, we suffer from divorces, from a lack of warmth and love, from the inability to sacrifice ourselves in relationships, from the universal cold that hovers in our homes.

The chants of ancient times are hardly preserved in the current church service. In the 6th century, the Monk Roman the Sweet Singer composed a kontakion for the holiday, which has not survived. Currently in use Troparion of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, which belongs to relatively ancient centuries.

Tell us about the ancient traditions associated with the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary that were observed in your family. We will be very interested to read the comments! My family traditionally observed fasting: on this day it was forbidden to eat meat, eggs, dairy products, and it was forbidden to drink alcohol.

Even if you are not used to fasting, don't worry. Much more important
be kind to the people around you and forgive their weaknesses and shortcomings. Share our article with your friends! Congratulate them on this great day.

The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the first event associated with the Gospel, remembered in the coming new church year(September 14), the first of twelve main church holidays. On this bright day, at the turn of the Old and New Testaments, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary was born, represented from the ages Divine Providence to serve the mystery of the incarnation of God the Word - to appear as the Mother of the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ and the merciful Intercessor of believers.

From the Gospel we learn only the main, most important events in the life of the Mother of God, but it does not say either about the circumstances of Her birth or about Her further life. These details are brought to us by church tradition, that is, ancient legends, church historical works, texts of church services. The Church calls the parents of the Most Holy Theotokos, Joachim and Anna, “godfathers.” Joachim was a descendant of King David, Anna came from the family of the high priest Aaron. They led a righteous and pious life. Tradition says that they kept only a third of the income for themselves - the rest was distributed to the needy and donated to the temple. Having reached old age, the couple remained childless. It should be said that childlessness was considered among the Jewish people as a punishment for sins, and therefore Joachim and Anna endured unfair accusations of secret sins. And when Joachim came to the temple on one of the holidays to make a sacrifice to God, the high priest refused him, because Joachim “did not create offspring for Israel.”

Shocked, Joachim went into the desert, where he spent several days in prayer, and his wife Anna spent her days praying at home. And almost simultaneously they both had a vision of an Angel who announced: “The Lord has heeded your prayer, you will conceive and give birth, and your offspring will be talked about all over the World.” In great joy, Joachim and Anna met at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem, hugged each other and found peace in their home.

Soon Anna conceived, and after the required nine months she gave birth to a girl. She was named Mary (as the Angel ordered). According to legend, the Virgin Mary was born in the house of Joachim and Anna in the northeastern part of Jerusalem. The monastery of St. Anne was later built on this site, under the building of which there is a cave that was once part of the house of the parents of the Virgin Mary.

Happy parents made a vow to dedicate their child to God. And therefore at age three years Mary was sent to the Jerusalem Temple for education and service.

The first church in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was built by order of St. Equal to the Apostles Queen Elena.

Iconography

The icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary shows the happiness with which our Intercessor came into our world. In front of this icon, you can ask the Mother of God for the salvation of our souls, according to which the Queen of Heaven will ask Her Son for His mercies to us.

Before this icon, you need to ask the Mother of God for the birth of children, especially when God does not give a child to the family for a long time, but in this case, prayers in front of the icon of the parents of the Holy Virgin, the righteous Joachim and Anna, help very well. The celebration of these saints falls on September 22 - the day after the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.

The icon of the Nativity of the Mother of God introduces us to the family of Joachim and Anna. On the left side of the icon is St. Anna. Her face expresses joy. To the right of Saint Anne are depicted maids bringing her food and drink. The image of the maids is a detail of the home life. Below, in the right corner of the icon, midwives are depicted preparing water for washing the newborn. And all these household details become part of the shrine, participating in the general bright holiday. In the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, both family and everyday life are sanctified, because Her Nativity becomes a preparation for the meeting of the Great King.

On the holiday icon, the Mother of God is usually depicted not in the middle, but swaddled in the arms of a midwife or standing in a font filled with water, awaiting ablution. But the image of the Mother of God on the icon of the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is, in essence, the most important image of the icon. This modesty of the image of the Mother of God expressed what was invariably in her - the fullness of humility.

Church in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Putinki was built in the middle of the 17th century. It is known that the current temple arose on the site of an earlier one, destroyed by fire. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich contributed to the reconstruction of the new temple. The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Putinki became the first Russian church, one of the altars of which was consecrated in honor of the icon of the Mother of God " Burning bush».

The walls of the temple are lined with special molded bricks in the “Russian pattern” style. They are painted white.

Inside the temple there are small fragments of wall painting from the 17th century, but most of the painting was done already in the 1990s.

The central column, erected at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, has survived to this day. On the western side it depicts St. Nicholas of Myra, on the northern side - St. Panteleimon, on the southern side - Blessed Xenia of Petersburg, and on the eastern side - Venerable Sergius Radonezh.

The entrance to the chapel of the Burning Bush icon of the Mother of God is located on the left. The chapel of the martyr Theodore Tyrone is on the right.

Among the holy images in the temple is a list of the icon of the Mother of God “The Tsarina of All” (“Pantanassa”). It depicts the Virgin Mary seated on a throne surrounded by archangels with the Child Jesus on her left arm. The first such icon in Rus' dates back to the 17th century.

Folk signs

September 21 is the second Autumn, the day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The holiday was called differently: Little Most Pure One, Gospozhinki, Spozhinki, the day of the onion tear.

Early in the morning, women and girls went out to the banks of rivers, lakes and ponds to meet Mother Osenina with oatmeal bread and jelly. In the minds of Russian people, her image merged with the image of the Mother of God, therefore they turned to her: “Most Pure Mother of God, deliver me from toil and harassment, take me away from others, illuminate my life and existence!”
Spozhinki (Gospozhinki) - harvest festival. Spozhinki coped with a long time ago and lasted a whole week. The more fruitful the summer was, the longer the holiday, celebrated by visiting and widespread hospitality. It was considered mandatory to invite young people to their parents. Often grandchildren stayed with their grandparents for several days after the holiday.

According to custom, on this day all relatives and friends went to visit the newlyweds to “teach them wisdom.” The young housewife was preparing a special round pie: “You are welcome to our bread and salt!” After a hearty lunch, the young housewife showed the house, and the young owner showed the yard, barn, barn, garden.

The Second Autumn combines two holidays: earthly and spiritual. In its earthly essence, it is a harvest festival, accompanied by games and songs, and in its spiritual essence, it is the birthday of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ.

On this day, the fire in the huts was renewed - the old one was extinguished and the new one was lit. It was believed that if you do this on this day, then all illnesses and troubles will remain in the past. From this day, human life begins a new circle that will last one year. Such circles began every autumn on this day.

On the day of the Nativity of the Mother of God, peasants usually went to church in the morning for a prayer service, and then went to the springs to pray to the Blessed Virgin.

From the Nativity of the Virgin Mary it is onion week, women harvest onions. Remove hives from apiaries.

If the weather is good on this day, then the whole autumn will be gentle and sunny. But if it rains, have your rubber boots ready.

Leonid Bulanov, Chairman of the Cyprus Branch of the IOPS

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Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - in Orthodox Church, the event is very important. We celebrated this holiday for a week. They prepared various dishes, cleaned the house, awaiting the arrival of dear guests. Works on land plots were finished, so we could afford to have a good rest.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

IN Holy Scripture there is no mention of the birth and life of the Virgin Mary. We will find out about her life path from the words of believers, which were passed down from generation to generation. It is from the sacred records that we discover the secrets of the birth of a woman who went through a lot of suffering, devotedly served God and gave all of herself for the birth and upbringing of the son of God and the savior of all mankind.

The parents of the Virgin Mary were deeply religious, humble and merciful people. His father, Joachim, was of royal origin, and his mother, Anna, was raised in the family of a clergyman and deeply respected all religious traditions, customs and rituals. Parents strictly adhered to God's basic Commandments and often brought gifts to church.

Despite this, for a long time, they could not have children, which at that time was considered a huge sin, bearing their heavy cross of life to a respectable age, never tired of asking God for mercy on their sinful souls.

The father, once again, having come to the temple of God and made a sacrifice, was expelled by the clergyman as a childless man. He felt peace and a sincere desire to turn to God with a sincere prayer for a desired, long-awaited child.

Having retired, he tirelessly cried out to the Creator of the World, his prayers were so pure and intimate that they were immediately heard, and as a reward for his devoted service, he became chosen from all people living on Earth to give birth to a daughter who would save the whole world.

Joachim and Anna made a promise to fulfill the will of the Creator and raise the child in all the strictness of religious rites, knowing about her mission and purpose on Earth - to become the Mother of the Savior of mankind.

The Orthodox Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary marked the beginning of a new period in the life of all people on Earth.

Icon "Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary"

The life path of the Mother of God was not easy, she experienced a lot of grief, suffering and torment, seeing her only, beloved son, in whom she invested all her knowledge, soul and heart, die crucified on Christ. Not many people can stand this.

Having passed all life's trials with dignity, she did not regret for a minute that she had dedicated her entire life to God. She treated all people with love and always prayed for the remission of their sins and the granting of God's mercy and forgiveness. With her righteousness, life aspirations and wisdom, as well as her unshakable desire to devote herself entirely to serving God, this woman became the protector of all people living on Earth.

One of the basic truths of life for all humanity is the birth of healthy, happy children who continue the family line. But not every young family is given the opportunity to have children, so many turn to the icon of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary with prayer, asking for the birth of a new life. After all, conception itself is a miracle that happened to the mother of the Virgin Mary.

The main thing is not to lose hope and believe in the miracles of the Lord. It is on this Great holiday that young girls pray for the creation new family and the opportunity to have healthy children, mothers - for the health of their children, for the healing of relatives and friends from illness and disease.

The Icon of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary depicts the moment of the birth of the future mother of Jesus Christ. All those who pray in front of this icon for the salvation of a sinful soul and repentance for violating the Commandments of God are granted forgiveness.

In Orthodoxy, in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the following icons were created:

• Glinsk Icon of the Birth Mother of God– known for its miraculous properties, having healed many lost souls. She helps women recover from gynecological diseases and infertility;
• Isaac's Icon of the Birth of the Mother of God was noticed by people between the branches of a weeping willow, on the bank of the river. Residents of a nearby village moved it to the temple, and over time, in the place where they found it, they built a new temple, which still exists today. She was a protector of infants and young children;
• Lucian's Icon of the Birth of the Mother of God - named after the monk Lucian, who was the first to see it and built it on this site new church and created a monastery. It is famous for its miraculous, healing qualities and protects against infantile ailments.

We provide the text of the prayer:

“Hey, our Blessed Queen, our indestructible Hope and invincible Intercessor! Do not turn Your face away from us for our many sins; but extend to us the hand of Thy Motherly mercy, and do a sign for good with us. Show us Thy rich help and prosper in every good deed; Turn us away from every sinful undertaking and evil plan.”

Service to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary

September 21 Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - great Orthodox holiday all believers. They prepare for it very carefully, adhering to all church rituals and canons.

The service in the church begins before sunrise, all the women light candles and write requests, placing them near the icon. During the service, they sincerely pray and ask for health for children and loved ones, harmony in family relationships, well-being in the family, healing from many ailments and giving the opportunity to give birth to a healthy child.

It was taken for granted that on this day to help vulnerable segments of the population by distributing food (bread and pastries baked in advance, different types self-grown cereals, vegetables and fruits).

There are many signs that are passed down from generation to generation:

• Before this holiday, on almost all plots of land they tried to harvest all the crops grown, thus ending the agricultural season;
• Our ancestors noted that if a woman manages to swim before the first rays of the sun, then her beauty will not leave her until old age;
• On the day of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary , girls were preparing for weddings, reading prayers for a happy future family life, about the birth of healthy firstborns and glorified the Most Holy Theotokos;
• The newlyweds met relatives: the young wife tried to show her best culinary dishes, and her husband showed animals raised throughout the year.

The Lord is always with you!

Other names for the holiday are “Second Most Pure” or “Oseniny”, since on this day folk calendar autumn is coming. Christians have long turned to the Mother of God, who became the unifying principle between God and the human race, and asked her for protection and blessings.

From the history of the holiday

The Holy Church rightly calls Joachim and Anna Fathers of God, because Jesus Christ was born from their daughter the Virgin Mary.

The events associated with the birth of the Virgin Mary are not described in the New Testament - the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is based primarily on church tradition, which tells that the parents of the Virgin Mary were the righteous Joachim from the family of King David and Anna from the family of the High Priest Aaron.

By the special providence of God, they lived to old age and were childless, despite the fact that throughout their 50-year marriage they prayed to God to grant them offspring, humbly trusting in the will of the Lord. Childlessness greatly upset the spouses, and also caused public censure, since in those days it was considered a shame. On one of the holidays, they went to the Jerusalem Temple to worship the Lord and make the required sacrifices.

The high priest, believing that the childless Joachim did not have God’s blessing, refused to accept them from him, which greatly saddened the elder. Without returning home, the inconsolable Joachim withdrew into the desert and spent forty days there in strict fasting and prayer, begging the Lord for mercy. His righteous wife, having learned about her husband’s act, also began, through fasting and prayer, to mournfully ask God to give her a child, promising to bring the born child as a gift to God.

And the prayer of the holy spouses was heard - an angel appeared to both of them and announced that they would have a daughter, who would be blessed by the entire human race. Having learned the good news, the couple met at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem. After this, Anna conceived. As the Protoevangelium of James, written in the 2nd century, tells us, “the months allotted to her passed, and Anna gave birth in the ninth month.”

The parents named the girl Maria, and raised Her in love for the Lord. And when the baby reached the age of three, Anna and Joachim took her to the temple of God in order to fulfill the promise they had once given to the Lord to dedicate the child given to them to serve the Creator.

The Most Holy Virgin Mary, with Her purity and virtue, surpassed not only all people, but also the Angels, appeared as the living temple of God and, as the Church sings in festive hymns, “The Heavenly Door introducing Christ into the Universe for the salvation of our souls.”

Nativity of the Virgin Mary: what can you eat?

You should fast on the day of the Nativity of the Mother of God only if the holiday falls on Wednesday or Friday - fast days. But even in this case, the church allows the consumption of fish and seafood. This year, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on Thursday; it is not a fast day, which means housewives can prepare both Lenten treats and meat dishes.

In every family, it is customary to set a large table in honor of this holiday. It is believed that the more richly the housewife prepares for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the more bountiful the harvest will be next year. Therefore, do not forget to pay tribute to nature by placing a basket of apples, pears, plums and grapes on the table.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: what not to do?

• Don't do hard things physical labor: leave housework, gardening and gardening for later.
• You cannot sweep crumbs from the table onto the floor: if there was bread left after a meal, it was given to pets.
• You cannot quarrel with loved ones and conflict with others: if the situation is close to critical, try to resolve any controversial issues peacefully.
• On the day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, you must have pure thoughts: do not raise your voice at loved ones - this is a sin, and you also cannot wish harm to others or think badly about someone.

Autumn

The ancient Slavs at this time celebrated the holiday of the onset of autumn - Osenina, which, after the adoption of Christianity in Rus', “merged” with the holiday of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. It is believed that on the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Indian summer ends and autumn finally comes into its own.

On this day, celebrations were held in honor of the harvested harvest and they thanked Mother Earth for this.

In Rus', the Mother of God was extremely revered; she was considered the people's intercessor, who primarily helps women. Therefore, the holiday of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary was something like Women's Day.

On this day, girls told fortunes about their betrothed, and on Oseniny it was also customary to congratulate and give gifts to newlyweds who got married in the fall - after finishing agricultural work. In villages, feasts were held right on the streets. The main treats were pies and bread made from the grain of the new harvest.

Signs

• It is known that people always monitored weather changes outside the window, and already in the summer they knew what kind of winter they should expect. On the autumn holiday of September 21, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, signs indicated the following:
• The day turned out to be clear - this weather will continue until the end of October.
• Fog in the morning - rainy weather should be expected, if the fog clears unexpectedly quickly - the weather will be changeable.
• If it started to rain in the morning, it will continue to rain for another 40 days, and the winter will turn out to be cold; if the bright sun in the morning quickly dries the dew on the grass, you should not expect a lot of snow in winter.
• If the weather is sunny on the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, then the autumn will be warm and clear, without heavy rains; if the sky is gloomy on this day, then the autumn cold will come with the rains.

Proverbs, sayings, nursery rhymes

• The First Most Pure One came - she put a necklace on nature, the Second Most Pure One came - she took the unclean mosquito, the Third Most Pure One came - the oak grove became leafless.
• The Most Pure One came - the tree was clean, but when the Intercession came - the tree was bare.
• The Most Pure One came and the unclean One brought matchmakers.
• The Dormition sows the rye, and the Second waters it with rain.
• At Christmas, the Mother of God said: “The Mother of God is putting away the cabbage heads” - that is, it’s time to clean up late cabbage, suitable for salting.
• The Nativity of the Virgin Mary is sometimes called Onion Day - this is the time of harvesting late onions, which is traditionally considered women's work.
• Also, the Nativity of the Virgin Mary is sometimes called Pasik’s Day - because of the cold weather, it was time to remove the bees from the apiaries.