L’Assomption
The 15th August is the festival of l’Assomption, celebrated by Catholics throughout France and commemorating the departure of Mary from this life and the assumption of her body into heaven.
On this day, according to the Catholic faith, the Virgin Mary was ‘taken up to heaven‘ in body and soul after her death.
The origins of this religious festival are not entirely clear, but it is said that the date became a public holiday in the 17th century under King Louis XIII, son of Henri IV and Marie de Médicis. In 1637, Louis asked his subjects to host processions across the land in honour of the Virgin Mary, hoping she would grant him a son, after 20 years of marriage to Anne of Austria without producing a male heir,
Miraculously, the very next year, in 1638, Louis XIV was born and the date became a jour férié.
Each year following this ‘miracle’, pilgrims would head to Lourdes on the 15th August and it was also on this date in 1858 that the Virgin Mary appeared to a young shepherdess, Bernadette Soubirous, today known as Our Lady of Lourdes, in the Grotte de Massabielle.
Devout Catholics all over France make pilgrimages to religious sites on this day.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Most shops close (although some small shops and supermarkets remain open in the morning) and there are festivities, concerts, fireworks and more in most towns and villages.
Contact your local Office de Tourisme for more info.
There’s an old French saying…….
“Quand il pleut le jour de l’Assomption, il pleut jusqu’à la nativité”
Ooops ! Let’s hope not… L’Assomption is 15th August and the nativité is in December!!
DID YOU KNOW?
*Assumption comes from the Latin word assumptionem meaning taking or receiving, and developed into the noun we know today when it shook off its religious roots and became used to describe “the act of assuming or taking for granted”.
In the village of Ile de Re, the lights are left on all night, and people walk around talking. Why?