It is a public holiday that often goes unnoticed. August 15 allows those who have already gone on vacation in July to enjoy an extended weekend, especially when returning to work is too difficult. But this date is primarily a feast celebrated by Catholics for the “assumption of the Virgin Mary.”
During this feast, large pilgrimages are organized to Marian shrines all over the world, but particularly in France. This is notably the case in Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées), La Salette (Isère), Île Bouchard (Indre-et-Loire), Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), and Sion (Meurthe-et-Moselle).
If this feast retains its significance, even today, it is also because the Assumption was designated as a national holiday before the Revolution. In the “Vow of Louis XII,” in 1638, the King of France “consecrated” himself, the crown, France, and the French people to the Virgin and thus ordered that great processions be held every August 15 in the hope of having a son. On September 5 of the same year, little Louis Dieudonné, future Louis XIV, was born, which gave a special significance to this act.
Mary “after having completed the course of her earthly life, was taken up body and soul”
Established as early as the end of the 6th century, this feast has been a dogma for the Catholic Church only since 1870. More than 150 years ago, it affirmed that Mary “after having completed the course of her earthly life, was taken up body and soul” into heaven. This event should, however, not be confused with the Ascension of Jesus.
As for the Reformed and Protestant Churches, they reject this dogma because it is not mentioned in the Gospel. Regarding the Orthodox, they prefer the name “Dormition of the Virgin” to refer to this public holiday. Very common in Eastern iconography, they assert that the Virgin died without any fear of death, and it would be like “falling asleep.”
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