S’prazdnikom!Â
Blessed Feast!
April 7/March 25
Today we celebrate the Great Feast of The Annunciation… the Announcement of Glad Tidings!
During her holy life, the Virgin Mary (with discernment), actively participated and consistently said “yes” to God. In St. Luke 1:26-38 we hear her humble response to the Archangel Gabriel, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her.”
There’s an old custom on the Annunciation, of arising at dawn in order to watch the sun dance with joy. The only other time it does this, is at the Great Feast of Holy Pascha, the Resurrection of Christ! An old English name for the Feast of the Annunciation, was Lady Day, and nine months from today, is the Nativity of our Lord God and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
Venerable Bede (7th century), likened the Virgin Mary to a white lily… symbolizing her purity, innocence and virginity. The floral centre of yellow anthers, are as the golden radiance of her soul.
The Archangel Gabriel is often depicted in scenes of the Annunciation as giving the Virgin Mary a lily. In August, around the time of the Dormition, blooming hostas are called Assumption Lilies.
Lilies, were also called the white-robed apostles of hope. Their colour symbolizes the sinless Christ. The shape of the Easter lily represents a trumpet, resounding the message that Christ is risen. The nature in which lilies grow is also symbolic of the Resurrection.
The troparia (hymn) for the Feast of the Annunciation: Today is the fountainhead of our salvation, and the manifestation of the mystery which was from eternity. The Son of God becometh the Virgin’s Son, and Gabriel proclaimeth the good tidings of grace, wherefore, we also cry to the Theotokos with him: Rejoice, thou who art full of grace, the Lord is with thee.