Celebrating The Feast Of The Assumption In My Lebanese Family

Our Lady of Lebanon
Our Lady of Lebanon

Today is August 15th, The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It sounds like quite the esoteric topic for a post, but I wanted to share this day with you in the form of pictures and anecdotes because it’s a big deal in my family!

In Lebanon today, it is a statutory holiday and it is highly celebrated.  You go to church, you visit and spend time with everyone named Mary, and you even give them presents.  And, because my name is Mary, today is my day!

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Feast of the Assumption celebrates Mary when, upon her death, she was ‘taken up body and soul into heavenly glory’.

Our Lady of Lebanon
Our Lady of Lebanon

When my grandmother was alive, this day was her day, too – basically like a birthday celebration.  August 15th was bigger for her than any other day of the year because her name was Marie and she was very religious.  We would go over to her house and exchange gifts and have lunch with the extended family.

Continue reading

Facebooktwitterpinterestinstagram