The Jerusalem tradition honoured the place of Mary's birth next to the Pool of Bethesda. In the early 5th century, a church was built here in honour of Saint Anne, and Mary's birth was commemorated on 08/09, the anniversary of its dedication. Pope Sergius I probably introduced the feast into the Western Church at the end of the 7th century, and then Pope Innocent IV added an octave to it in the 13th century, which lasted until 1955.
The Hungarian name for the feast dates back to the 15th century. The Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Kisboldogasszony) is a popular pilgrimage day nationwide. In honour of the Stella puerpera Solis ('beautiful morning star'), it was customary on the dawn of 08/09 to await the sunrise outdoors, joining the angels who rejoice in heaven at Mary's birth at this time. It was believed that those who 'were worthy' would see the Virgin Mary in the rising sun. According to popular observations, swallows set off on their journey around Kisasszony (Little Lady Day).
Mary is God's blessed ground, from which the flower and fruit of our salvation sprang. From this symbolism arose the custom, still alive at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries in the Balaton region and Göcsej, of placing seeds out in the dew on the night leading up to the feast, or in the early hours of the morning, to prevent blight. In popular language, the period between the two great Marian feasts (15/08 and 08/09) is called 'kétasszonyköze' (between the two ladies).
Mary's birth has rich apocryphal traditions, and these have also entered our codex literature. In the 16th-century Teleki Codex's legend of Anne, it reads: "When Saint Anne's hour came, she gave birth on a certain Tuesday of the week. In good health, she bore the royal shoot of righteous David, a maiden chosen before this world, the sweet Virgin Mary. As they had been taught by the angel, for she was to be the future enlightener and mistress of this world, and the star of the sea."
"Today, 08/09, we celebrate the liturgical feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is the dawn and hope of the salvation of the entire world. This Marian feast is deeply rooted in the hearts and devotion of the faithful […], because they are aware that with her birth began those salvific events in God's plan that then created such a close bond between Mary and her Son.
Let us therefore rejoice as we remember the Mother of our Saviour. As Saint Peter Damian said: 'Indeed, if Solomon and with him the whole people of Israel celebrated the dedication of the temple with such abundant and lavish sacrifices, what and how much joy will the birth of the Virgin Mary bring to Christians? For into her womb, as into the most holy temple, God descended in His own person, to assume human form, and to dwell graciously among men in visible form.'
Let us, then, offer our humble prayer today to the child Mary for the world and for the Church.”
Saint John Paul II
Grant unto us, O Lord God, the gift of Thy heavenly grace, that for those for whom the dawn of salvation arose in the divine motherhood of the Blessed Virgin, the feast of her birth may bless them with peace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Source: Magyar Kurír
Joyful News Press Office/Diocese of Debrecen-Nyíregyháza