Nativity of the Blessed Virgin and Ever-Virgin Mary. Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: history, traditions and signs of the holiday September 8 Mother of God

All aspects of this holiday, history, icons and prayers, we will consider in this article.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: history

This event is not mentioned in Scripture, its details are known from the apocryphal text of the middle of the 2nd century "The Protoevangelium of James".

According to the existing Tradition, the place where the Nativity of the Virgin took place is in Jerusalem. However, in the Russian Orthodox Church, the version that St. Demetrius of Rostov adhered to has become widespread: that the parents of the Virgin Mary lived in Nazareth and that is where she was born.

In the mountainous region north of Jerusalem, on the slope of one of the mountains near the valley of Ezdralon, lay Nazareth. It was a small town that did not show itself in history, why the Jews even spoke of it somewhat contemptuously, saying: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

In this town lived the pious couple of Joachim and Anna, whom the Lord chose to become the forefathers of the Savior of the world. Joachim came from the house of King David, and Anna came from a priestly family. Anna's niece, righteous Elizabeth, later became the mother of John the Baptist and cousin of the future Virgin Mary.

Righteous Joachim was a prosperous man, having a large number of cattle. The whole life of this righteous couple, despite their wealth, was imbued with the spirit of reverent love for God and mercy for their neighbors. For these qualities, they enjoyed universal love and respect. However, one grief depressed them: they were childless, which among the Jews was considered a sign of God's punishment. They constantly asked God to send them joy in a child, although already in their old age they had little hope for this. Joachim was especially upset by his childlessness and one day, bringing his gift to God, he heard a harsh reproach from a certain Reuben: “Why do you want to bring your gifts to God before others? After all, you are unworthy, as barren!” Out of great grief, righteous Joachim withdrew into the desert for fasting and prayer.

Upon learning of this, the righteous Anna, pleading guilty to their childlessness, also grieved and began to pray even more fervently to God that He would hear her and send her a child. In one of these moments of prayer, the Angel of the Lord appeared to her and said: “Your prayer has been heard by God, and you will conceive and give birth to a blessed daughter, above all earthly daughters. For Her sake all the generations of the earth will be blessed. Name her Maria.

Hearing these joyful words, the righteous Anna bowed to the Angel and said: “As the Lord my God lives! If I really have a child, then I will give him to the Lord for the service. Let it serve Him, praising His name throughout life!”

The same Angel of the Lord appeared to the righteous Joachim, saying to him: “God graciously accepted your prayers. Your wife Anna will conceive and give birth to a daughter, about whom the whole world will rejoice. This is the sign of the fidelity of my words: go to Jerusalem, and there at the Golden Gate you will meet your wife.

Saint Joachim immediately went to Jerusalem, taking with him gifts both for the sacrifice to God and for the priests.

Arriving in Jerusalem, Joachim met his wife Anna, as the angel foretold, and they told each other everything that he had proclaimed, and after spending some more time in Jerusalem, they returned home to Nazareth. After the prescribed period of gestation, the righteous Anna gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Mary, as the Angel commanded her.

After a year, St. Joachim arranged a feast, to which he called the priests, elders, and all his acquaintances. At this feast, he raised his Blessed Daughter and, showing it to everyone, asked the priests to bless Her.

Christians began to celebrate the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin only by the 5th century. We read the first mention of him in the Patriarch of Constantinople Proclus (439-446) and in the breviary (liturgical book) of Pope Gelasius (492-426). Saints John Chrysostom, Epiphanes and Augustine also write about the holiday. And in Palestine, there is a legend that the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Empress Helena built a temple in Jerusalem in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Icons of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Nativity of Our Lady with Selected Saints. Novgorod. Late XIV - early XV centuries. Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Prayers of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Troparion of the Nativity of the Theotokos, tone 4

Kontakion of the Nativity of the Virgin, Tone 4

Magnification of the Nativity of the Virgin

We magnify Thee, Blessed Virgin, and honor Your holy parents, and all-glorious glorify Your Nativity.

The first prayer for the Nativity of the Virgin

Oh, Blessed Lady, Christ our Savior, God-chosen Mother, asked of God by holy prayers, dedicated to God and beloved by God! Who will not please you or who will not sing, Your glorious Christmas. For Thy Nativity was the beginning of the salvation of men, and we, sitting in the darkness of sins, see Thee, dwelling place of the Unapproachable Light. For this sake, the ornate tongue cannot hymn thee according to the property. More than the seraphim, thou art exalted, Most Pure. Both accept the present praise from the unworthy Thy servants and do not reject our prayers. We confess your greatness, we bow down to you in tenderness and boldly ask the child-loving and merciful Mother in intercession: implore your Son and our God to grant us, who sin a lot, sincere repentance and a pious life, so that we can do everything pleasing to God and useful to our souls. Let us hate all evil, strengthen by Divine grace in our good will. You are our shameless hope at the hour of death, grant us a Christian death, a comfortable march on the terrible ordeals of the air and a legacy of the eternal and ineffable blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven, and with all the saints we silently confess Your intercession for us and may we glorify the one True God, worshiped in the Holy Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Second Prayer for the Nativity of the Virgin

Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of heaven and earth, falling down to Your miraculous image, tenderly saying: look graciously on Your servants and by Your omnipotent intercession, send down to anyone who needs it. Save all the faithful children of the Holy Church, turn the unfaithful, guide those who have gone astray on the right path, support old age and weakness of strength, grow young in the faith of the saint, increase courage for good, lead sinners to repentance and hear all Christian prayers, heal the sick, quench the sorrows of travelers travel. You weigh, All-Merciful, as if weak, as if sinners, as if embittered and unworthy of God's forgiveness, both be of help to us, but we will anger God with no sin of self-love, temptation and devilish seduction: You are the Imams of the Intercessor, Even the Lord will not reject. If you rejoice, you can bestow everything on us like a gracious source, who faithfully sing to You and exalt Your glorious Christmas. Deliver, Mistress, the falls and troubles of all who piously call on Your holy name and bow down to Your honest image. You cleanse our tuna with the prayers of iniquity, the same we fall down and cry out to you again: cast away from us every enemy and adversary, every misfortune and destructive unbelief; by your prayers, giving rains in time and abundant fruitfulness to the earth, put in our hearts the fear of God for the fulfillment of the commandments of the Lord, so that we all live quietly and peacefully for the salvation of our souls, for the good of our neighbors and for the glory of the Lord, for Him, as the Creator, Provider and Savior glory, honor and worship befits ours, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

Third Prayer for the Nativity of the Virgin

Oh, Most Pure and Blessed Virgin, the Lady of the Mother of God, born from barrenness according to the promise and purity for the sake of your soul and body, being worthy to be the Mother of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, now with Him in heaven and imash great boldness to the Most Holy Trinity, from Neyazhe, like a Queen, you are crowned with a crown of eternal reign. Meanwhile, we humbly resort to You and ask: intercede for us from the All-Merciful Lord God forgiveness of all our sins, voluntary and involuntary; to the suffering fatherland of our salvation, peace, silence and piety restoration, times are peaceful and serene, sedition of the evil is not involved; to the abundance of the fruits of the earth, the air of well-being, the rains are peaceful and well-timed. And everything that is necessary for our life and salvation, ask us of Your Son, Christ our God. Most of all, hurry up for us to be adorned with good morals and good deeds, yes, very powerfully, we will be imitators of Your holy life, which from youth on earth was adorned, pleasing the Lord; for this sake, the most honest Cherubim and the most glorious Seraphim appeared. To her, the Most Holy Lady, be to us in everything an ambulance Helper and a wise mentor for salvation, let us follow you and help you, let us be worthy of the heir of being the Kingdom of Heaven, the sufferings of Your Son, the outgoing, the fulfillers of the holy commandments of His promised. Thou art Thou, Madam, our only hope and hope according to God, and we betray our whole life to You, hoping for Your sake of intercession and intercession, we will not be put to shame at the hour of our departure from this life, and at the Last Judgment of Your Son, Christ our God, His right hand to be worthy of standing, and there to rejoice forever with all those who have pleased Him from the ages and silently glorify, praise, thank and bless Him with the Father and the Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

The Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos belongs to the great twelfth feasts and is celebrated by believers on September 21st.

History of the Feast of the Nativity of the Virgin

According to legend, the Virgin Mary was born in the Galilean city of Nazareth. Her parents were the righteous Joachim and Anna. Joachim and Anna were childless for a long time. They have already reached advanced years, but children's laughter was not heard in their house. The righteous Joachim and Anna did not murmur against God, but they believed in His divine mercy.

Joachim and Anna always fulfilled all the precepts of God, they extolled Him in prayers, brought sacrifices to Him in temples and hoped that He would not reject them. They did not grumble, on the contrary, they remembered with gratitude every day that was given to them by God. And their every day was illuminated with joy, in which they worked for the glory of God. Sadness did not dry their features, but they prayed daily that God would grant them a child. After all, the Jews believed that if there are no children in the family, then this family is rejected from God, He does not give her His mercy.

It was believed among the Jews that God punishes with barrenness those who are sinners and did not repent of their sin. Let this sin be secret and no one knows about it, but God knows everything, and He punishes the unrighteous for this sin by the absence of successors of the family.

Righteous Joachim and Anna were also ranked among such sinners by their neighbors. The women did not talk to Anna at the well, where they came for water, and the men did not call Joachim if they went to solve common problems. But the righteous did not grumble, they did not stop praying to God.

Once Joachim went to the temple to offer a sacrifice to God. But the high priest did not accept this sacrifice from him. He began to shout at Joachim, saying that that wicked man and his prayers and sacrifices were displeasing to God. Righteous Joachim did not argue with the high priest and left the temple. He went into the desert and prayed there for a long time with a frenzy.

Icon of the Holy Virgin Mary

Joachim was heard, and the angel of the Lord Gabriel appeared before him. He told righteous Joachim that his prayer had been heard by the Lord and that his request would be fulfilled, God would grant the family a righteous child. The archangel Gabriel also informed Joachim that the daughter who would be born to him should be named Mary, and through her salvation would be granted to the whole world.

Rejoiced, righteous Joachim returned home. He told his wife Anna that the angel of God had brought him good news. Anna promised the Lord that if a child was born to her, she would give her to serve in the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Virgin Mary entered the Temple in Jerusalem without fear, as She was ready for this fate. After all, in her father's house, She saw with what gratitude and devotion parents treat God. How they pray and glorify the Almighty. And in the Jerusalem temple, the Most Pure Virgin Mary felt that She had become even closer to the One Whom she loved with all her heart in the house of her parents.

So the Lord prepared a woman who could give birth to the Savior. Her pure soul, Her sinless thoughts singled Her out from among the believers. The Virgin Mary became the link between the earthly world and the heavenly world. Divine grace, which descended upon Her, made Mary righteous and protected Her from every temptation all her life. The Holy Spirit descended on Her, and she was able to give birth to the Savior.

Like any earthly woman, she bore a child, gave birth to Him in pain. But the Savior appeared in the world, and the Divine Infant illuminated the whole world with his appearance. And His light touched the Most Pure Virgin. She felt that the heavenly world had become closer. She felt the blessing of God with all her heart.

Through the Virgin Mary, all people feel the grace of God. After all, She not only gave birth to the Savior, She prays with her pure soul for all people and testifies for them before the eyes of the Almighty.

Church traditions for the Nativity of the Virgin

The Nativity of the Virgin began to be celebrated as a great holiday in the sixth century. On this day, solemn services are held in the temples. All believers glorify the beautiful day when the Lord gave people hope for the coming of the Savior into the world. The birth of the Virgin Mary is like the promise of the Lord that He did not forget about them, that His grace is strong, that His blessing is wonderful.

Earlier on this day, believers always went to church. They put on festive clothes and uttered words of gratitude to God, who gave people hope. They prayed to the Most Pure Virgin, who came into the world that day, and asked Her for grace.

Icon of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On this day, special breads were baked, on which the letters "P" and "B" were squeezed out, which meant "Nativity of the Virgin". Such bread rolls were necessarily distributed to all households so that they would join the great holiday. These loaves were placed under the icons and kept until the birth of Jesus Christ. If someone in the house fell ill, they took a piece of such a loaf, crushed it and added it to the water, which they gave to the patient to drink. Sometimes the bread was simply given to eat, and the patient had to drink it with holy water. Water was also blessed on the Nativity of the Virgin.

The Nativity of the Virgin falls on fast days, but on this day it was allowed to eat fish. Housewives always cooked mushroom or fish soup, and also baked pies with fish and mushrooms. They treated all those who came to the house with such pies, they did not forget to dress the poor. This was considered very important, because if a woman did not dress those who asked that day, then she could become barren. If a woman did not spare food and small money, God gave her well-being in the house and many children.

Signs for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Many folk signs were associated with this day. On the day of the Nativity of the Virgin, they determined what autumn would be and what winter would be. On September 21, “the sun plays hide-and-seek with the moon” - day is equal to night. But from now on the nights become longer and the days shorter.
The people said that if the birds rise to the sky on the Mother of God, then autumn is still far away, and if they huddle to the ground and look for food, then the winter will be cold and hungry.

If it was clear on September 21, fine days will stand until the end of October. If on the morning of the Nativity of the Virgin the sky is clear, clear and stars are visible, expect cold weather soon, but the weather will be dry. If it is foggy that morning, it will rain. If in the morning the fog, which quickly dissipated, the weather is expected to be changeable: rains and warm days will alternate.

If the stars are large and bright, then you should expect cold matinees.

If it rains in the morning that day, it can last another 40 days, and the winter will be early and very cold. If on the morning of September 21 there is dew on the grass, in exactly a month there will be frost on the ground. If the sun dries the dew quickly, the winter will be little snowy, and if the dew dries before noon, an abundance of snow can be expected in winter.

This morning we looked at the stars. If the stars are large and bright, then soon you should expect cold matinees, if the stars, on the contrary, are dim, the heat will last for a long time.
We also watched the weather all day, in order to determine by signs what kind of autumn is expected. If it is windy on this day, the winter will be little snowy, with severe winds. If it is warm in the morning and colder in the afternoon, the frosts will strike very early, and in winter there will be very severe frosts. The most severe frosts in winter fell on Epiphany. But on the day of the Nativity of the Virgin, they determined when the most severe frost would be. If on September 21 the sun shines brightly during the day and warms well, then in winter you need to wait for thaws.

Folk traditions and rituals for the Nativity of the Virgin on September 21

In ancient times, women tried to go to the river early in the morning and meet this day by the water. It was believed that if a woman washed herself with water on this day before sunrise, then she would be beautiful until her old age. And if a girl washed her face before sunrise, she should be betrothed this year.

On the same day, it was considered obligatory to visit the young. Went to visit those who recently celebrated their wedding. It was believed that parents on this day were supposed to teach the young, instruct them on the right path, teach them to avoid mistakes. And the young, in turn, had to tell about their life. The young wife made a pie with her own hands, which she served to the guests. The husband must show the guests the household.

If the economy was strong, the house was clean, life was established, gifts were presented to the young family. But they also did not forget to try the pie prepared by the young wife. If the cake was successful, the wife was presented with a beautiful handkerchief. If the cake was raw or burnt, the husband was given a whip, which he had to teach his wife, but he had to eat the cake alone.

If a woman washes herself with water on the day of the Nativity of the Virgin, she will be betrothed

There was a belief that the crumbs from this pie should not be thrown away, they should be collected and taken to the barn, then the household would continue to be strong, and the birds would not spoil the crop, the animals would not destroy the livestock.

On this day, the young people were supposed to visit their relatives in the evening. The newlyweds dressed in festive clothes and slowly walked through the village. They carried a birthday cake with them. So that no one jinxed the young family, the bride strengthened the ribbon with the letters “R” and “B” (Nativity of the Virgin) on her belt. This ribbon protected from evil people, and also gave special protection to the Virgin. If such a ribbon was untied along the way, it means that the young were envied and wished them harm.

And so that everything was safe in the house, the women went to church in the morning and put candles to the Most Holy Theotokos, which were wrapped in paper flowers. A piece of paper was put on the bottom of the candle, on which requests were written to the Blessed Virgin. We watched which side the piece of paper would burn, because it was this request that would be fulfilled. If the piece of paper burned down completely, it means that all requests were heard.

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Both according to the church calendar and according to the chronology of events described in the Gospel, the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos is the first twelfth feast. What are the features of this celebration and what date is it celebrated?

History and meaning of the holiday

The Church received information about the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos not from Scripture, but from Tradition. The parents of the Queen of Heaven, the righteous Joachim and Anna, lived to old age, but remained childless. The father of the Virgin came from a royal family, and her mother was the daughter of a high priest. In those days, among the people, their barrenness was considered a sign of a terrible sin and, as a result, God's punishment. Childless couples were condemned in society and grieved a lot that they could not become parents.

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the first twelfth feast

Once Joachim came to the temple, but the high priest did not allow him to make a sacrifice because Joachim did not have offspring. Finding no consolation, he went into the desert, where he fasted and prayed. Anna was at home, but she also fasted and prayed to the Lord. During their joint fervent prayer, an Angel of God visited them, announcing that their prayers were heard, they would conceive and give birth, and their offspring would be talked about all over the world. Having received the good news from the Angel, the couple rushed towards each other and met at the city gates.

Indeed, despite her advanced age, Anna conceived and nine months later gave birth to a daughter, Maria. For God, nothing is impossible: "God, wherever he wants, overcomes the order of nature: he creates more than a tree wants." The righteous parents promised to dedicate the child to God, and when the girl was three years old, she was sent to the Temple.

The feast in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos appeared around the 5th century. The first mention of this event was found in the records of Patriarch Proclus and in the breviary that belonged to Pope Gelasius.

Such teachers of the Church as John Chrysostom, Epiphanes and Augustine wrote about this holiday. In Palestine, a tradition has been preserved that claims that Equal-to-the-Apostles Empress Helen built a temple in Jerusalem in honor of the Birth of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Video "Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary"

In this video, the history of the holiday is presented, as well as its meaning is described.

Date of celebration

The holiday is not passing, therefore it is always celebrated on the 21st of September, nine months after the feast of the conception of St. Anna (December 22). In 2019, this day fell on a Saturday. If the holiday falls on Wednesday or Friday (fast days), then fish is allowed at the meal.

On September 20, a prefeast is celebrated, and within four days after the holiday, until September 25, an afterfeast.

Divine Liturgy of the Nativity of the Virgin

On the evening of September 20, an evening service is performed, and on the morning of the feast, the Divine Liturgy. The proverbs of the evening service contain passages from the Old Testament that tell about the following events:

• the vision of Jacob - a ladder connecting the earth and heaven, which became a prototype of the Virgin;
• the prophecy of Ezekiel, in which the prophet calls the Mother of the Lord the gates through which the Holy Elder and the Holy Master Builder pass;
• a parable that tells about the House that Hypostatic Wisdom has prepared for Herself - about the Most Holy Theotokos.

The festive service contains the works of such Fathers of the Church as:

• Saint John of Damascus;
• Saint Andrew of Crete;
• Patriarch Herman of Constantinople;
• Bishop Anatoly of Thessalonica;
• Saint Stephen and Sergius Svyatogradtsev.

Folk traditions and customs

As on any church holiday, every Orthodox person on this day should attend the Divine Liturgy, prepare for the triumph of repentance, and, if possible, proceed to Holy Communion. On this day, any physical work is prohibited, except for the most necessary, for example, set and clear the table, chop wood for the stove on this day, and not in stock. Although this time falls on the harvesting of the land, and many are busy working in the garden, on this holiday all land work stops.

Previously, there was a belief among the people that on this day one should pray with special zeal for the successful marriage of daughters and the well-being of children in general. Unmarried girls prayed for a good groom. In addition, people went to visit each other, gave gifts, brought treats.

Folk festivals were organized in the villages, the scope of which depended on what kind of crop was harvested. With a good harvest, people could celebrate for about a week. Calling guests on this day, special attention was paid to matchmakers and sons-in-law, as it was important to establish good relations with new relatives.

The farmers thanked the Queen of Heaven and the earth for the given harvest. Here you can clearly see the mixture of pagan customs of addressing the earth and Orthodox prayers to the Mother of God. In fact, paganism is unacceptable in any form, as it is a veiled service to demons. In some parts of the world, there is a custom to commemorate the dead on this day, as on Parents' Saturday.

Icons and temples in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin

The first icons depicting the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary date back to the 6th century. They were widespread in the art of Russia and Byzantium at the beginning of the second millennium. The main features of the iconography:

1. Saint Anna, dressed in a red maforium, is on a high bed.
2. A maid is standing near St. Anne.
3. At the bottom of the icon is depicted the washing of a baby.
4. Virgins with gifts come to the mother.
5. St. Joachim is not nearby, but looks out of the window of the tower or is in the doorway, since men were not always allowed to enter the women's part of the house.

After the Baptism of Rus', the construction of churches and monasteries began. The Most Holy Theotokos is especially revered by the Russian people as the Mother of God and as the intercessor and protector of Russia from enemies. Many monasteries and temples were built in her honor. Some of the first are:

1. Temple in the Kremlin, erected by Princess Euphrosyne in 1392.
2. Cathedral in the Bobrenev Monastery.
3. Bogolyubsky monastery in the Vladimir region.
4. Ferapontov Monastery.
5. Bogoroditse-Rozhdestvensky Monastery in Moscow.

Bogoroditse-Nativity Monastery in Moscow Bogolyubsky Monastery in the Vladimir Region Bobrenev Monastery

The feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos is one of the main twelve feasts of the Church. Many temples and monasteries are consecrated in his honor. There are a number of customs associated with this event among the people. This is the first twelfth feast after the New Year of the Church.

Every year on September 21, the Orthodox Church celebrates a great holiday - the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was established in honor of the miraculous birth of the Virgin Mary from elderly parents - the pious Anna and Joachim. The holiday was first mentioned in the 5th century.

There is little information about the Mother of God in the New Testament. The story of her life has been brought to us by a legend according to which the parents of the Virgin Mary came from the family of David. The Church calls them the holy Fathers of God, because according to the flesh they are the ancestors of Jesus.

Miraculously, the Divine Providence for the salvation of mankind manifested itself on Anna and Joachim: after 50 years of married life, the childless Anna conceived and gave birth to the Mother of God. Even before the birth of the girl, the Angel gave her the name Mary. She became the only and most holy Virgin Who was foretold to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah: “Behold, a Virgin in the womb will bear and bear a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

History of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

According to legend, the place where the Mother of God was born is in Jerusalem. However, in the Russian Orthodox Church, the version put forward by St. Dmitry of Rostov became widespread: that the Virgin Mary was born in Nazareth, where her parents lived.

Nazareth was a small town, unremarkable. The Jews even spoke of him somewhat contemptuously: "Can something good come from Nazareth?" The pious couple of Anna and Joachim lived in this city, who were chosen by the Lord to become the forefathers of the Savior of people. Anna came from a priestly family, and Joachim from the family of King David. Anna's niece, the righteous Elizabeth, became the cousin of the Virgin Mary and the mother of John the Baptist.

Joachim was a wealthy man, kept a large number of cattle. Despite their wealth, throughout their lives the righteous couple believed in God and were merciful to people. For this, they were loved and respected by their neighbors. The existence of spouses was overshadowed only by childlessness, which among the Jews was considered God's punishment. They constantly asked the Lord to give them a baby. But the older they got, the weaker was the hope.

Once Joachim, bringing a gift to God, heard a cruel reproach addressed to him from another Jew: “Why do you want to bring your gifts to the Lord before others? After all, you, being barren, are not worthy of this? Hearing this, Joachim was very upset. Out of great grief, he went into the wilderness for prayer and fasting.

Upon learning of this, Anna felt herself the culprit of their childlessness, and began to pray even more fervently that the Lord would hear her and send them a child. During one of her prayers, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her and said: “Your request has been heard by God. Soon you will conceive and give birth to a blessed Daughter who will be higher than all earthly daughters. Call her Mary." Upon hearing the joyful news, Anna promised to give the child to the service of the Lord.

Archangel Gabriel also appeared to Joachim. He also told the saint great news and ordered him to go to Jerusalem, where he would meet his wife at the Golden Gate. Joachim hastened to Jerusalem, taking with him gifts for God and the priests.

At the Golden Gate, Joachim met with Anna. They told each other about the miraculous appearance of the Angel of the Lord. They spent some more time in Jerusalem, and then returned home to Nazareth. Nine months later, Anna gave birth to a daughter, who was named Mary.

When the girl was one year old, her father arranged a feast, to which he called the elders, priests and all his acquaintances. During the celebration, he showed his Daughter to all those present and asked the clergy to bless her.

According to church traditions, the Virgin Mary was born at a time when religion was in decline and various prejudices gained great popularity. Every year the moral strength of the people was depleted. Believers understood that only some extraordinary event, God's intervention in earthly affairs, could save spirituality. The Son of God decided to take on the human image in order to come to earth and save mankind from sins. Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus because she led a very pious life. She devoted herself entirely to the service of the Lord. From childhood, the Virgin Mary diligently studied, studying the Holy Scriptures, therefore she was ideally suited to fulfill this important mission.

The Nativity of the Mother of God is celebrated as the day on which God's providence began to be carried out regarding the salvation of the human race from devilish inventions. The holiday is also associated with the day of childbirth. Women who dreamed of knowing the joy of motherhood invited guests to dinner and ordered a service in the church.

Icon "Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary"

The icon "Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos" helps everyone who turns to her with their requests. It protects from all evil, averts misfortune, helps to heal the human soul and guides on the true path. Also, childless people pray at the holy image, dreaming that the Lord would give them a child.

Documentary film "Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary"

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Other names of the holiday are “Second Most Pure” or “Autumn”, since autumn comes on this day according to the folk calendar. 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 Most Holy Theotokos 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 a special providence of God, they lived to an advanced age and were childless, despite the fact that during the 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 Temple in Jerusalem to worship the Lord and offer the prescribed sacrifices.

The high priest, believing that the childless Joachim did not have the blessing of God, refused to accept them from him, which greatly saddened the elder. Without returning home, the inconsolable Joachim retired to the desert and spent forty days there in strict fasting and prayer, praying to the Lord for mercy. His righteous wife, having learned about the deed of her husband, also began in fasting and prayer, mournfully asking God to give her a child, promising to bring a 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 bless the whole human race. Upon learning the good news, the couple met at the Golden Gate of Jerusalem. After that, Anna conceived. According to the Protoevangelium of James, written in the 2nd century, “the months prescribed for her passed, and Anna gave birth in the ninth month.”

The parents named the girl Mary and brought her up 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 given once to the Lord to dedicate the child he had given to the service of the Creator.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, with her purity and virtue, surpassed not only all people, but also angels, she appeared as a 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: what can you eat?

Fasting on the day of the Nativity of the Mother of God should be done 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, this is not a fast day, which means that housewives can cook both lenten treats and meat dishes.

In every family, in honor of this holiday, it is customary to lay a large table. It is believed that the richer the hostess prepares for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the more generous 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: what not to do?

• Do not engage in hard physical labor: leave for later work around the house, in the garden and in the garden.
• It is impossible to sweep crumbs from the table to the floor: if bread remained after a meal, it was given to pets.
• You can’t 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 Most Holy Theotokos, you should have pure thoughts: do not raise your voice to loved ones - this is a sin, you also cannot wish evil to another or think badly about someone.

Osenins

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

On this day, they organized celebrations in honor of the harvested crop and thanked Mother Earth for this.

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

On this day, the girls guessed at the betrothed, it was also customary to congratulate and give presents to the newlyweds who got married in the fall - after the completion of agricultural work. In the villages, feasts were held right on the streets. The main treats were pies and bread from the grain of the new harvest.

Signs

• It is known that people have always followed the changes in the weather 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 Most Holy Theotokos, signs indicated the following:
• The day turned out to be clear - such weather will continue until the end of October.
• Fog in the morning - rainy weather should be expected, if the fog disperses unexpectedly quickly - the weather will be changeable.
• If it started to rain in the morning, it will pour 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, 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 rain.

Proverbs, sayings, nursery rhymes

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