Ferragosto

The Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is observed on 15 August in Bavaria and the Saarland, although not in the rest of Germany. With what solemnity and artistic mastery is the ascension to heaven of Mary, body and soul, depicted by Tizian.

And yet must we not ask whether we are dealing here with Fake News! Mary's presence at Pentecost is the Bible’s last reference to the mother of Jesus, scripture is silent about what happened to her thereafter. And yet since the fifth or sixth century the Assumption has been celebrated. In furtherance of what agenda, I wonder? An attempt to co-opt the long-established Roman Feriae Augusti and give them Christian re-branding? After all, turning the festival of Saturnalia into Christmas worked quite well for the spin doctors of old.