In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
As you said, Penny there are many ceremonies and processions, some of which are quite old and they are something typical to watch and enjoy. And I am saying that some of them are very old because they originate in Pagan rites to mark the Winter Solstice.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
There are shepherds from the mountains of Abruzzo that go to Rome, Milan too I see, and they wind their way through streets, playing the bagpipes around this period.
[url=http://viewitaly.blogspot.com/2006/11/zampognari-italian-christmas-bagpipes.html]Italian's Insight to Travel Italy: Zampognari ? Italian Christmas Bagpipes[/url]
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Must be an emaculate pregnancy aswell. 3 weeks gestation....??
(apologies to any deeply religious types in advance)
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
What has always intrigued me is, if today is the immaculate conception and Jesus was born on the 25th December, was Mariy's pregnancy only 3 weeks or over one year? Was that the second miracle of Jesus' birth?
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
[quote=Heiko;105039]What has always intrigued me is, if today is the immaculate conception and Jesus was born on the 25th December, was Mary's pregnancy only 3 weeks or over one year? Was that the second miracle of Jesus' birth?[/quote]
NO - its the [Catholic] fact that to bear Jesus, Mary had to be 'born without sin' herself - hence , she was conceived immaculately herself.
I think the theory falls down a bit though - as surely for Mary to be conceived immaculately, surely [by the same premise], so should her mother, and her mother's mother, and so ad infinitum.
[But then - I speak a Proddy]
.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Rather than trying to explain the whole thing myself I think that for those who are interested in knowing what this festivity is all about, there is a very good link with plenty of other references:
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Immaculate_Conception]Feast of the Immaculate Conception - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/url]
P.S. And another explanation, this time by John Paul II and the Observatore Romano, the official newspaper from the Vatican:
[url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/jp2bvm20.htm]MARY WAS CONCEIVED WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN[/url]
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
There is a beautiful statue of Mary, on a column in Piazza Di Spagna, Roma and the Pope tradionally places a garland of flowers on Marys head in honour of her Immaculate Conception.
Some say this visit by the Pope officially opens the Christmas shopping season! :bigergrin:
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Apparently there is a pilgrimage from Loretto to Madonna del Ambro today and it will pass through Amandola later tonight. It is torchlit and a Madonna is carried all the way.