The Day of the Assumption of Mary (Día de la Asunción de María) is a Catholic feast held in churches in Mexico and worldwide on August 15 to celebrate Jesus’ mother Mary’s arrival in heaven.
Is Assumption of Mary a Public Holiday?
Assumption of Mary is not a public holiday. Businesses have normal opening hours.
Catholics believe Jesus' mother Mary was physically taken to heaven.
Flowers for Mary are seen in many churches on Assumption Day. Some towns and villages hold processions dedicated to Mary, in which a statue of her image is carried with flowers and banners.
Jesus’ mother, also known as the Virgin Mary or Our Lady of Guadalupe, is one of Mexico’s patron saints. Mexico City’s Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary (Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de María), which is one of the oldest Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Americas, is dedicated to Mary. Statues and artwork depicting Mary’s assumption are also found in a number of Mexican churches.
Public Life
The feast of the Assumption of Mary is a religious observance and not a federal public holiday in Mexico.
About the Assumption of Mary
Assumption Day commemorates the belief that when Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, died, her body was not subjected to the usual process of physical decay but was “assumed” into heaven and reunited there with her soul. This holiday, which has been celebrated since the fourth century CE, is a Christianization of an earlier harvest festival.
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