Late yesterday afternoon a neighbor and I taxied across town to the sweet little Templo de San Matías Jalatlaco for an organ concert presented by the Instituto de Órganos Históricos de Oaxaca in honor of La Asunción de la Virgen María (Feast of the Assumption). Once there, we ran into a couple of friends. The combined length of time the four of us had lived in Oaxaca totaled over 80 years (with me being the most recent, at nine years). I point this out because none of us knew why apples accompanied the image of Mary. Hmmm… Could it possibly have something to do with Eve in the Garden of Eden, we wondered?
Of course, the librarian in me couldn’t resist doing a little research. So, first stop on this morning’s grocery shopping trip to Mercado Benito Juárez, was a stop at Oaxaca’s Cathedral to see if the Virgin there also had apples to send her on her way. After all, the full name is Catedral Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption). Sure enough, Mary stood among bushels of apples.
The origin of the connection between Mary’s Assumption and apples is rather ambiguous. In sifting through the various explanations that Google found for me, la Virgen is considered the “New Eve” or “new Mother of men.” Wow, our speculation wasn’t too far from the mark. It is also said that when Mary drifted off to her final sleep, the cenacle (room the Last Supper was held) began to give off the scent of flowers and apples and, thus the tradition reminds believers of the moment of La Asunción.
Then there is the pragmatic explanation — this is the time of the summer harvest and “In many Catholic countries Assumption Day marks the period for invoking blessings on vineyards, herbs and plants… [and] In the East, where the Assumption Feast originated, the day is commemorated with elaborate ceremonies for blessing fruit trees and grain.” European colonists brought apples to the New World and they are abundant this time of year — thus Mary asleep among apples.
No matter the story behind this tradition, the aroma of apples was divine!
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