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8.) Assumption of the Virgin. The date for The Assumption of the Virgin is celebrated on 15 August of the year. |
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This date in the ecclesiastical calendar has been celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church since the fourth century. The assumption refers to the belief that the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM), having completed her earthly life, was in body and soul assumed into heavenly glory; that is, the body of Mary was united with her soul in heaven, rather than disintegrating on earth. Specifically, Immaculatum Deiparam semper Virginem Mariam, expleto terrestris vitae cursu, fuisse corpore et anima ad caelestem gloriam assumptam. |
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This belief was entirely unknown in the early days of the Church and is first encountered in certain apocrypha dating from the latter fourth century. Some of these are known to have been propagated by various Gnostic sects. Various authors are ascribed. The death of the BVM is described as occurring in Jerusalem, amid miraculous circumstances. The date is variously assigned to three, or 50, years after the Ascension. |
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The doctrine of corporal assumption was first formulated in orthodox circles in the West by Saint Gregory of Tours (d. 594), who accepted the account in the manuscripts ascribed to Saint Melito of Sardis as historical. |
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Feasts celebrating the death of the BVM were observed in Palestine during the fifth century, and possibly at Antioch in the fourth century. The Greek Church was divided over the date, some favoring 18 January, until the Emperor Maurice (A.D. 582603) ordered the observance of 15 August. |
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In Rome, one general feast was observed for the BVM until the latter seventh century. Byzantine feasts of the BVM were introduced in the time of Pope Sergius I (A.D. 687701). From Rome, they spread to countries of the Gallican rite, where the 18 January date had been observed. By the end of the eighth century, the Feast of the Assumption was universally observed on 15 August. Pope Leo IV ordered the octave to be kept in A.D. 847. |
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9.) All Hallow's Eve. The date for All Hallow's Eve is celebrated on 31 October of the year. |
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Rites for honoring the dead on All Saint's Day are begun on the evening of the previous day. The date of All Saint's Day is 1 November, making "All Saint's Eve" the evening of 31 October. All Saint's Day was originally a pagan festival honoring the dead, which began at sundown on 31 October. |
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In Ireland, November Eve is a holiday for the daoine sidhe, or fairies. The fairies have three holidays May Eve, Midsummer Eve, and November Eve, when they open the graves of the dead and dance with the ghosts. These dates are the camouflaged survivors of important pagan ritual days. The celebration of Halloween is one such example. |
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10.) All Saint's Day. The date for All Saint's Day is celebrated on 1 November of the year. |
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