Feast of St. Juan Diego
72Some of the Many Religious Holidays of the Christmas Season
The December 25th celebration of Christmas may be the highlight of the Christmas Season but the Christmas season contains many special days which, like Christmas, are rooted in Christianity but have been secularized to some extent.
St. Nicholas Day is December 6th, a holiday celebrated in many countries with the bringing gifts to children. St. Nicholas of Myra was a real person whose acts of charity were so great that he is still remembered and his feast day celebrated today almost 1700 years after his death.
Six days after St. Nicholas Day, on December 12th, is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe which celebrates the second appearance of the Virgin Mary to the pious Mexican Indian, Juan Diego, on Tepeyac Hill outside of Mexico City in 1531.
Falling between St. Nicholas Day and Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is the Feast Day of St. Juan Diego or, as he is sometimes referred to, St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, which occurs on December 9th.
December 12th is celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe as this was the date of Juan Diego’s second encounter with the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus. It was during this appearance that she performed the miracle that enabled Juan Diego to convince Bishop Juan de Zumárraga, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Mexico, to build a church on Tepeyac Hill.
However, Juan Diego’s first encounter with the Virgin Mary was on December 9th and this is the day that the Roman Catholic Church has chosen to observe as the Feast of St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin.
The next feast day is St. Lucia’s or St. Lucy’s Day which commemorates a Sicilian girl named Lucia, an early Christian convert, who suffered a martyr’s death in the Sicilian Syracuse in 310 A.D.
St. Lucia’s Day is observed December 13th and is popular in Scandinavian nations as well as Italy, Malta and the Caribbean Island of St. Lucia which was named for her. It is also celebrated, mostly in Lutheran Churches, in nations like the United States and Canada.
St. Stephen’s Day, which is observed on December 26th, commemorates St. Stephen, the young man who was stoned to death in Jerusalem in the days when the Church was in its infancy following the Ascension of Christ into Heaven.
St. Stephen was the first in a long line of Christian martyr’s. St. Stephen’s Day is an official holiday in Ireland (where it is known as Wren Day), Finland and Italy as well as in England and in English speaking Commonwealth nations where it is known as Boxing Day.
Juan Diego's Encounter With the Mother of Jesus
While he listened sympathetically to Juan’s account of his meeting and the request Juan had received, Bishop Zumárraga was naturally skeptical and needed more evidence than the words of a pious workingman.
Before he could go back to Tepeyac Hill to request a miracle from the Virgin Mary, Juan Diego received word that his uncle was dying. Setting aside his plans to visit Tepeyac Hill, Juan set out on the morning of December 12th to find a priest to minister the Last Rites of the Church to his dying uncle.
En route to the priest’s home, Juan Diego was met again by the Virgin Mary. After first assuring Juan that his Uncle had been cured, she instructed him to go to the top of Tepeyac Hill where he would find the miracle needed to convince the Bishop.
Going to the top of the hill, Juan found a bush of Castilian roses in full bloom. Not only do roses not bloom in the cold of winter, but Castilian roses were native to Spain and not found in Mexico.
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Juan Diego Receives a Miracle to Deliver to Bishop Zumárraga
The Virgin Mary knew that Bishop Zumárraga, a Spaniard from Spain, would immediately understand that a simple laborer, like Juan, would not be able to come up with roses in winter, let alone roses from across the ocean, without divine assistance.
However, the real miracle was not just the roses but what the Bishop saw when Juan opened his cloak to reveal the roses.
Juan had gathered the roses in his cloak and when he opened his cloak to show the roses to the Bishop the roses fell out leaving behind a glowing image of the Mother of Jesus on Juan’s cloak.
Juan Diego Elevated to Sainthood by Pope John Paul II
The church on Tepeyac Hill has expanded and grown both in size and in the ever increasing numbers of pilgrims it has attracted each year since it was first built. The small church is now a large Basilica.
In 2002 Pope John Paul II traveled to Mexico City. On July 31st of that year, in the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pope John Paul II canonized, or raised to the status of Saint in the Catholic Church, Juan Diego making him the first indigenous native of the Americas (the New World) to be elevated to Sainthood in the Church.
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Juan Diego and His Wife Were Among the First to Convert to Catholicism
In 1521, then in his late forties, Juan Diego, or Cuauhtlatoatzin as he was known by his native name, witnessed the invasion and conquest of the Aztecs by the Spanish Conquistador, Hernán Cortés.
Sometime in 1524 or 1525, following the arrival of the first missionaries (the Franciscan order in this case), Cuauhtlatoatzin and his wife converted to the Catholic faith.
Taking the name Juan Diego at baptism, he and his wife were among the first in their area to convert.
Spaniards Were Looked Upon as Liberators When they First Arrived
It should be remembered that Cortés and his relatively small band of men did not topple the mighty Aztec Empire single handidly.
Rather, Cortés and his band marched at the head of a huge army of men that came from the numerous tribes chafing under Aztec rule. It was this army, led by Cortés, that defeated the Aztecs.
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Clergy Sought to Protect the Indians in Mexico
Bishop Juan de Zumárraga had not only been recommended for the post by Charles V, the King of Spain but had also been given the title of Protector of the Indians by the King.
Bishop Zumárraga took his duties as both bishop and Protector of the Indians seriously and struggled to protect and help the Indians which is why he willingly met with and listened to Juan Diego’s story.
It is also important to note that the appearance of the Virgin Mary to a native like Juan Diego, rather than to a church or government official, was significant.
When she appeared and spoke with Juan she not only had the darker skin and features of the local Indians, she also spoke using the local Nahuatl language rather than Spanish. This showed that Heaven itself was sympathetic to the plight of the native population.
This evidence of Heaven’s concern and support for the native peoples strengthened Bishop Zumárraga’s hand in his fights to protect them and their rights.
The Virgin Mary is Patroness of the Americas
Our Lady of Guadalupe has been a major figure and source of inspiration in Mexican history and culture as has her local messenger, Saint Juan Diego.
Links to Other Holidays of the Christmas Season
- Boxing Day
Boxing Day, December 26, is a holiday celebrated in England and the English speaking Commonwealth nations. It's origins are in the Middle Ages and, despite its name, this holiday has nothing to do with either the sport of boxing or the boxing of gif - St Stephens Day - December 26th
Among the many, originally religious but which now have many secular aspects as well, holidays celebrated during the Christmas Season is St. Stephens Day. St. Stephens Day is observed on December 26th and honors the Christian Church's first martyr. - Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
December 12th is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe a day when Mexicans celebrate the appearance, in 1531, of Mary the Mother of Jesus before a humble Indian worker named Juan Diego - St Nicholas Day
St. Nicholas, from whom Santa Claus has evolved, was a real person and saint who is still honored on December 6th - St. Nicholas Day - each year.
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe Mexico City - Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe near Mexico City
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CommentsLoading...
What a great story! I was only a little familiar with the basic outline. I love having the real story. Thank you!
A great and well presented festive hub here.
I have to vote up up and away.
Take care and enjoy your day.
Eddy.
With Christmas approaching your hub was useful in bringing out the mood, chuck.
I live in Superior, Arizona and find the religious stories of Mexico extremely interesting. One can find references to Our Lady of Guadalupe all over the state. It's nice to know something about the history. Very good hub. Thanks.
Thank you for an informative hub that validates my suspicion that there are more days worthy of celebration in December than just Christmas and Boxing Day. The story of Juan Diego's encounter with the Virgin Mary and then finding the roses in bloom is especially uplifting.
ElleBee Level 1 Commenter 3 months ago
Very interesting and informative. I love Our Lady of Guadalupe, but I realized that I knew less about the story of Juan Diego than I thought :)