Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Mary's Day

Although it originally began as a pagan festival, May 1st, or the celebration of May Day, was Christianized during the process of conversion in Europe and continues to be observed by some in Europe and America.  In the Roman Catholic tradition the entire month of May is dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and in Catholic school when I was growing up we held May Crownings with crowns of flowers placed on a statue of Mary.

In honor of May Day today, I find an excuse to post photos I've randomly taken in Europe of various Virgin iconography.

Tile mosaic on the streets of Seville.

Virgin and Child by Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano at the Louvre.


Mary painted on the Renaissance vault of the Seville Cathedral.

Stained glass window in the Mesquita in Córdoba.

Virgin of the Navigators in the Alcázar, Seville.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for posting these, and bringing a bit of May Day to life, as for years it has begun to be around less and less!

    ReplyDelete

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