Adventní kult panny Marie v současné lidové tradici: prameny z Moravy
The Advent Cult of the Virgin Mary in Contemporary Folk Tradition: Sources from Moravia

Summary/Abstract: The study contains a comparison of three local variations on the folk custom and domestic pilgrimage. It presents Catholic folk worship during the period of Advent, which is initiated by women of the older and middle generations. At its center is the honoring of the Virgin Mary. All the variations on this custom address the theme of Mary and Joseph’s search for a roof in Bethlehem on the eve of Christ’s birth, and are therefore called the Lodging of the Virgin Mary, the Search for Lodging. Women carry a statue of the Virgin Mary from house to house, where the family takes it in and prays to it; the following evening it travels to a different family. The entire custom is based on the principle of a dialogue with the Virgin Mary. It takes place in three stages, in word and song: invitation and acceptance of Mary into the home, prayer, farewell. In South Moravian villages another phase appeared around 1990: thanks given to the family for the acceptance of the Virgin Mary. The domestic worship contains the main program of Marian spirituality of the 19th century (The Virgin Mary Immaculate) in the spirit of the official cult; but it develops further the cult of the Virgin Mary Mother of the Faithful in an intimate tone. The conservative model continues in the living tradition of the 21st century, and carry over a number of some of the Marian legendary songs into the present.

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