St. Mary's Feast

Marian feast days are specific holy days of the liturgical year recognized by Christians as significant Marian days for the celebration of events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her veneration. The number of Marian feasts celebrated, their names (and at times dates) can vary among Christian denominations.

St. Mary's Feast which celebrates the birth of Mother Mary is the most important festival celebrated in the basilica and is attended by thousands of people. Held in the month of September, the festivities go on for 10 days culminating in a grand chariot procession on the last day. The festivities begin with the hoisting of a traditional flag. A Novena is held on the first nine days from August 29 to September 7. September 8, the day on which Mother Mary was born, is celebrated as a feast. Holy Mass is offered in different languages and mass marriages are conducted for the poor and needy. A thanksgiving mass is also organised for couples who have completed 50 years of marriage. Eucharistic celebrations are held on the day of the feast and a decorated chariot with the image of Mother Mary is drawn by devotees along the various streets of Bangalore.

Development of feasts

Over time, the number and nature of feasts (and the associated Titles of Mary) and the venerative practices that accompany them have varied a great deal among diverse Christian traditions. Overall, there are significantly more titles, feasts and venerative Marian practices among Roman Catholics than any other Christians traditions.

Some differences in feasts originate from doctrinal issues – the Feast of the Assumption is such an example. Given that there is no agreement among all Christians on the circumstances of the death, Dormition or Assumption of Mary, the feast of assumption is celebrated among some denominations and not others. In his early years, Martin Luther used to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption, but towards the end of his life he stopped celebrating it.

While the Western Catholics celebrate the Feast of the Assumption on August 15, some Eastern Catholics celebrate it as Dormition of the Mother of God, and may do so on August 28, if they follow the Julian calendar. The Eastern Orthodox also celebrate it as the Dormition of the Mother of God, one of their 12 Great Feasts. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrates the Feast of Dormition not on a fixed date, but on the Sunday nearest August 15. Moreover, the practices apart from doctrinal differences also vary, e.g. for the Eastern Orthodox the feast is preceded by the 14-day Dormition Fast.

Feasts continue to be developed, e.g. the feast of the Queenship of Mary was declared in the 1954 in the papal encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam by pope Pius XII. The initial ceremony for this feast involved the crowning of the Salus Populi Romani icon of the Virgin Mary in Rome by Pius XII as part of a procession in Rome, and is unique to Roman Catholics.

Other differences in feasts relate to specific events that occurred in history. For instance, the Feast of Our Lady of Victory (later renamed Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary) was based on the 1571 victory of the Papal States against the Ottoman Empire in the Battle of Lepanto, is hence unique to Roman Catholics.