The books of the Bible are filled with references to the natural cycles of the earth. While the Christian faith offers a taste of the transcendent, it also takes its form in an earthly way. Early on, Christians saw a confirmation of their faith in the cycles of nature. The Bible is full of references to the natural world, such as “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24, ESV). Christians saw a reflection of divine truth in the natural patterns of the earth. Furthermore, the church drew out these patterns in the arrangement of an ordering of feast days. Christmas Day, for example, was set on the winter solstice, just before the days would get longer and brighter after the bleak month of December. Easter has been traditionally celebrated at sunrise, in an effort to connect with the rising sun, which has been viewed as a powerful natural image of the Son of God who rose from the darkness of death.

Natural Associations

The piety surrounding the Virgin Mary was also rooted in the natural world. She has been associated with the sea, stars, soil, flowers, and snow. Her body, which went through nine months of pregnancy following the Annunciation, experienced one of the great seasons of the female life. She is intimately connected with the beginning and end of life, and the feasts that are devoted to her are largely connected with these critical thresholds. These thresholds are connected to the seasons of our bodies, the seasons of the earth, and the seasons of the Church.

Liturgical Calendars

In particular, liturgical churches such as the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican are anchored by events that repeat themselves year after year. Life in these churches is cyclical, meaning that the same Scriptures are read on the same Sundays year after year, the same feasts are celebrated on the same days, and the same colors are used during particular seasons to visually mark the event that is being celebrated.

These churches move through time and through seasons. Historically, there have been special seasons in these churches connected to the Virgin Mary. These seasons encapsulate her conception, her birth, the Annunciation, Christ's birth, and her death. The seasons are intimately connected with the fundamental realities of life — conception, birth, and death. These feasts have been celebrated in a way that at least partially corresponds to the realities they represent. In particular, in the Eastern Orthodox Church the Virgin Mary's birth is celebrated exactly nine months minus one day after her conception. This placement of the feasts is intended to show that she was human, although quite extraordinary, coming a day early — fulfilling the dreams of her parents and ushering in a new era of faith. (In contrast to this, the time from Jesus' conception — Annunciation on March 25 — and his birth on Christmas is exactly nine months.)