Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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The earliest document commemorating this feast comes from the sixth century.St. Romanus, the greatecclesiastical lyrist of theGreek Church, composed for it ahymn (Card. Pitra, "Hymnogr. Graeca", Paris, 1876, 199) which is a poetical sketch of theapocryphal Gospel of St. James.St. Romanus was a native ofEmesa inSyria,deacon of Berytus and later on at the Blachernae church in Constantinople, and composed hishymns between 536-556 (P. Maas in "Byzant. Zeitschrift", 1906). The feast may have originated somewhere inSyria or Palestine in the beginning of the sixth century, when after the Council of Ephesus, under the influence of the "Apocrypha", thecult of the Mother of God was greatly intensified, especially inSyria.St. Andrew of Crete in the beginning of the eighth century preached several sermons on this feast (Lucius-Anrich, "Anfänge des Heiligenkultus", Tübingen, 1906, 468). Evidence is wanting to show why the eighth of September was chosen for its date. TheChurch ofRome adopted it in the seventh century from the East; it is found in the Gelasian (seventh cent.) and the Gregorian (eighth to ninth cent.) Sacramentaries.Sergius I (687-701) prescribed alitany and procession for this feast (P.L. cxxviii, 897 sqq.). Since the story of Mary's Nativity is known only fromapocryphal sources, theLatin Church was slow in accepting this oriental festival. It does not appear in manycalendars which contain the Assumption, e.g. the Gotho-Gallican, that of Luxeuil, the Toledan Calendar of the tenth century, and the Mozarabic Calendar. The church of Angers inFrance claims that St. Maurilius instituted this feast at Angers in consequence of a revelation about 430. On the night of 8 Sept., a man heard theangels singing inheaven, and on asking the reason, they told him they were rejoicing because the Virgin was born on that night (La fête angevine N.D. de France, IV, Paris, 1864, 188); but this tradition is not substantiated by historicalproofs. The feast is found in the calendar of Sonnatius,Bishop ofReims, 614-31 (Kellner,Heortology, 21). Still it cannot be said to have been generally celebrated in the eighth and ninth centuries.St. Fulbert,Bishop ofChartres (d. 1028), speaks of it as of recent institution (P.L., cxli, 320, sqq.); the three sermons he wrote are the oldest genuine Latin sermons for this festival (Kellner, "Heortology", London, 1908, 230). The octave was instituted byInnocent IV (a. 1243) in accordance with avow made by thecardinals in theconclave of the autumn of 1241, when they were keptprisoners byFrederick II for three months. In theGreek Church theapodosis (solution) of the feast takes place 12 Sept., on account of the feast and the solemnity of the Exaltation of the Cross, 13 and 14 Sept. TheCopts inEgypt and theAbyssinians celebrate Mary's Nativity on 1 May, and continue the feast under the name of "Seed of Jacob" 33 days (Anal. Juris Pont., xxi, 403); they also commemorate it on the first of every month (priv. letter from P. Baeteman, C.M., Alikiena). TheCatholicCopts have adopted the Greek feast, but keep it 10 Sept. (Nilles, "Kal. Man.", II, 696, 706).

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