The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of Mary, Marymas or the Birth of the Virgin Mary, refers to a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of Mary, mother of Jesus.
The modern Biblical canon does not record Mary's birth. The earliest known account of Mary's birth is found in the Gospel of James (5:2), an apocryphal text from the late second century, with her parents known as Saint Anne and Saint Joachim.
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel (Spanish: Misión de San Gabriel Arcángel) is a Californian mission and historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. It was founded by the Spanish Empire on the Nativity of Mary September 8, 1771, as the fourth of what would become twenty-one Spanish missions in California. The mission was named after the Archangel Gabriel, and often referred to as the "Godmother of the Pueblo of Los Angeles."
The mission was designed by Antonio Cruzado, who gave the building its capped buttresses and the tall narrow windows, which are unique among the missions of the California chain. It was completed in 1805. A large stone cross stands in the center of the Campo Santo (cemetery), first consecrated in 1778 and then again on January 29, 1939. It serves as the final resting place for some 6,000 neophytes.
Milan Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Milano [ˈdwɔːmo di miˈlaːno]; Milanese: Domm de Milan [ˈdɔm de miˈlãː]), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary (Italian: Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Dedicated to the Nativity of St. Mary (Santa Maria Nascente), it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Archbishop Mario Delpini.
The cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete: construction began in 1386, and the final details were completed in 1965. It is the largest church in the Italian Republic—the larger St. Peter's Basilica is in the State of Vatican City, a sovereign state—and one of the largest in the world.
Monreale Cathedral (Italian: Cattedrale di Santa Maria Nuova di Monreale; Duomo di Monreale) is a Catholic church in Monreale, Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily. One of the greatest extant examples of Norman architecture, it was begun in 1174 by William II of Sicily and is dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The church was elevated by a bull of Pope Lucius III to the rank of a metropolitan cathedral in 1182 as the seat of the diocese of Monreale, which was elevated to the Archdiocese of Monreale in 1183. Since 2015 it has been part of the Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The church is a national monument of Italy and one of the most important attractions of Sicily. Its size is 102 meters (335') long and 40 meters (131') wide.
The Marriage of the Virgin is the subject in Christian art depicting the marriage of the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The wedding ceremony is not mentioned in the canonical Gospels but is covered in several apocryphal sources and in later redactions, notably the 14th-century compilation the Golden Legend. Unlike many other scenes in Life of the Virgin cycles (like the Nativity of Mary and Presentation of Mary), it is not a feast in the church calendar, though it sometimes has been in the past.
In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, essentially the same scene, with very similar iconography, is considered to represent the earlier scene of the "Entrusting of Mary to Joseph", with Joseph being made Mary's guardian by the temple authorities.
Klosterneuburg Abbey (German: Stift Klosterneuburg) is a twelfth-century Augustinian monastery of the Catholic Church located in the town of Klosterneuburg in Lower Austria. Overlooking the Danube, just north of the present Vienna city limits at the Leopoldsberg, the monastery was founded in 1114 by Saint Leopold III of Babenberg, the patron saint of Austria, and his second wife Agnes of Germany.
The abbey church, dedicated the Nativity of Mary (Mariä Geburt), was consecrated in 1136 and remodeled in the Baroque style in the seventeenth century. The impressive monastery complex was mostly constructed between 1730 and 1834. Its foundations, including a castle tower and a Gothic chapel, date back to the twelfth century. Other older buildings still extant within the complex include the chapel of 1318 with Saint Leopold's tomb. From 1634 on, the Habsburg rulers had the facilities rebuilt in the Baroque style, continued by the architects Jakob Prandtauer and Donato Felice d'Allio. The plans to embellish the monastery on the scale of an Austrian Escorial were later resumed by the Neoclassical architect Joseph Kornhäusel, though only small parts were actually carried out. In 1879, the abbey church and monastery were restored according to plans by Friedrich von Schmidt, and the neo-Gothic twin steeples were erected.
The Mghvimevi monastery (Georgian: მღვიმევის მონასტერი, romanized: mghvimevis monast'eri) is a Georgian Orthodox monastery in the western Georgian region of Imereti, near the town of Chiatura, partly carved into rock. Its main feature is a 13th-century two-nave basilica, dedicated to the Nativity of the Mother of God. The complex also includes a small hall church, bell-tower, and a circuit wall. The monastery is a functioning nunnery. It is rich in ornamental architectural sculpture which decorate the exterior of the churches. The Mghvimevi complex is inscribed on the list of Georgia's Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance.
Saint John's Eve, starting at sunset on 23 June, is the eve of the feast day of Saint John the Baptist. It is one of only two feast days marking a saint's earthly birth (the other being the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 September); all other saint’s days mark their deaths (dies natalis, their “birth” into Heaven), or some other important event. The Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:26–37, 56–57) states that John was born six months before Jesus; thus, the feast of John the Baptist’s birth was fixed on 24 June, six months before Christmas. In the Roman calendar, 24 June was the date of the summer solstice, and Saint John's Eve is closely associated with Midsummer festivities in Europe. Traditions are similar to those of May Day, and include bonfires (Saint John's fires), feasting, processions, church services, and gathering wild plants.
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception celebrates the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on 8 December, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary on 8 September. It is one of the most important Marian feasts in the liturgical calendar of the Latin Church.
By pontifical decree, it is the patronal feast day of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Italy, Korea, Nicaragua, Paraguay, the Philippines, Spain, the United States, and Uruguay. By royal decree, it is designated as the day honoring the patroness of Portugal.