Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady, the God-bearer and Ever-Virgin Mary
The Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady, the God-bearer and Ever-Virgin Mary, is the first of the twelve great feasts of the Orthodox Church year. It is first both in the chronology of New Testament events and in the Church calendar, which begins in September and is thus called in liturgical hymns “the beginning of our salvation.” The birth of the Mother of God fulfilled prophecies that Christ, the Savior of the world, would soon come to earth. The Church celebrates the Nativity of the Most Holy God-bearer annually on September 21 (September 8 by the old calendar), a fixed feast with one day of forefeast and four days of afterfeast.
The Nativity of the Most Holy God-bearer: The Event of the Feast
From the Gospel, we learn only the principal events of the God-bearer’s life, but it does not mention the circumstances of Her birth or Her later life. These details are conveyed to us through Church Tradition, including ancient narratives, ecclesiastical-historical writings, and the hymnographic liturgical heritage, that is, the texts of the Church’s services. The parents of the Most Holy God-bearer, Joachim and Anna, are called “God-parents” by the Church. Joachim was a descendant of King David, and Anna came from the lineage of the high priest Aaron. They led a righteous and pious life. Tradition states that they kept only a third of their income for themselves, giving the rest to the needy and the temple. Having reached old age, the couple remained childless. It must be noted that childlessness was considered among the Jewish people a punishment for sins, and thus Joachim and Anna endured unjust accusations of secret sins. Yet they did not despair but hoped in God’s mercy and believed that the Lord could grant them a child even in their old age, as He once did for Abraham and Sarah.
On one of the great Jewish feasts, Joachim went to the Jerusalem Temple to offer a sacrifice to God according to the Law of Moses. But the high priest rejected Joachim’s gifts, accusing him of sins for which God punished him with childlessness. Grieved, Joachim did not return home but went into the wilderness where his flocks were grazing. Anna, learning what had happened in the temple, was also deeply saddened. However, they did not murmur against the Lord but prayed fervently, beseeching His mercy. Their prayer was heard by the Lord. According to Tradition, an angel appeared to Joachim in the wilderness and to Anna in the garden, bringing the joyful tidings that they would have a daughter. Both immediately set out for Jerusalem and met at the Golden Gate. In due time, they had a daughter, whom they named Mary. Joachim and Anna gave thanks to the Lord with joy and vowed to dedicate their child to God’s service. The date of the Nativity of the God-bearer is exactly nine months from the Orthodox feast of the Conception of Saint Anna (December 22).
The Nativity of the Most Holy God-bearer in History
One of the earliest references to the feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy God-bearer is found in the fifth century in the writings of Saint Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople (439–446). Among the Jacobites and Nestorians, who separated from the Orthodox Church in the fifth century, September 8 is also observed as the feast called “Nativity of the Lady Mary.” By the seventh and eighth centuries, the feast was celebrated with great solemnity in the Greek Church. Its official establishment in the Byzantine Empire is attributed to Emperor Maurice.
The Liturgical Service for the Nativity of the Most Holy God-bearer
The service for the feast includes works by Saint John of Damascus (eighth century)—the first canon; Saint Andrew of Crete (seventh century)—the second canon; Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople (eighth century)—stichera at the versicles; Anatolius, Bishop of Thessalonica (ninth century)—certain stichera at the litia; and Stephen and Sergius of the Holy City (ninth century)—stichera at “Lord, I have cried” and some at the litia and versicles. The stichera for the Nativity of the God-bearer contain the doctrinal teaching that through the Virgin Mary, the Lord prepared for Himself an earthly Throne and a Royal Chamber; that the Mother of God surpasses all women in Her greatness because from Her was born the Son of God; that by resolving the barrenness of the Mother of God’s parents, the Lord can also resolve our spiritual barrenness, that is, grant us the strength to do good. At the same time, these stichera invite all people, both Old Testament and New Testament (those present in the church), to rejoice and glorify the Mother of God, for through Her, heaven was united with earth, hell was put to shame, the gates of paradise, that is, the Kingdom of Heaven, were reopened to mankind, and we were renewed and “deified,” that is, made partakers of God’s grace.
In the readings appointed for the feast of the Nativity of the God-bearer, the first (Genesis 28:10–17) speaks of Jacob’s vision of the ladder, which prefigured the Mother of God, who united heaven with earth; the second reading (Ezekiel 43:27; 44:1–4) contains Ezekiel’s prophecy, which called the Mother of God the gate through which passed the Holy Ancient of Days and the Holy Steward; the third (Proverbs 9:1–11) speaks of the House prepared by the Hypostatic Wisdom, that is, Jesus Christ (this House, built by Wisdom, is the Mother of God, the Most Holy Virgin Mary, in whom the Lord dwelt).
The thoughts of the canon for the feast are closely aligned with those of the stichera. In the Epistle reading (Philippians 2:5–11), it is said that the Son of God humbled Himself, taking the form of a servant and humbling Himself even unto death on the cross, and for this, He was exalted above every name. In the Gospel reading (Luke 10:38–42; 11:27–28), it is told of Christ’s stay in the house of Martha and Mary. The most ancient hymn of the feast, likely composed between the fifth and seventh centuries, is the troparion:
“Thy nativity, O Virgin God-bearer, hath proclaimed joy to the whole universe: for from thee hath shone forth the Sun of Righteousness, Christ our God, who, having broken the curse, hath given a blessing, and, having abolished death, hath granted us life eternal.”
The kontakion of the feast:
“Joachim and Anna were freed from the reproach of childlessness, and Adam and Eve from the corruption of death by thy holy nativity, O Most Pure One. This is celebrated by thy people, delivered from the burden of sin, who loudly cry unto thee: the barren one beareth the God-bearer and the nourisher of our Life.”
The Feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy God-bearer: Folk Traditions
The feast of the Nativity of the Most Holy God-bearer is also called “Little Most Pure” or “Asposov Day.” According to folk tradition, the time around this day was called Ospozhniki, Spozhinki, or Gospozhinki. The scale of the festive celebrations depended on the harvest of the new year. With a good harvest, Gospozhinki was celebrated for an entire week: the more bountiful the summer, the longer the feast. Village “feasting,” aligned with the Church’s festal cycle, took place from the Dormition of the God-bearer to the Protection of the Most Holy God-bearer. The feast was conducted with all the laws of hospitality: beer was brewed according to the number of guests, a sheep or ram was slaughtered, dishes were prepared from beef, the head and legs of the bull were used for aspic, fish was taken from kulebyaka, and, although the feast day was not a fast day, a pie was baked from homemade wheat flour mixed with purchased fine flour. A day or two before the feast, children invited relatives to the celebration, giving preference to those who would host a feast in return. An exception was made for sons-in-law, especially young ones: neither the father-in-law nor the mother-in-law overlooked inviting them, even if they did not expect a reciprocal invitation. It was very important that good relations existed between sons-in-law and the parents of their wives, as expressed in the proverb: “Not for the son-in-law dog, but for the dear child.”
The matchmakers of the son’s parents were the most honored guests at the table of the daughter’s parents, seated in the front corner under the icons. Village merriment was broader and more varied in places where there were churches dedicated to the Nativity of the God-bearer, and in these villages, fairs were held in connection with the feast.