Accounts of the Assumption have circulated since the 4th century. In the 5th and 6th century, several apocryphal writings were written describing this event and many of the legends associated with it. One of these legends is that the apostles were carried on clouds to Mary’s deathbed from the towns were they were preaching. Another, dated to the 7th century, St. Thomas was not present when Mary died and, when he arrived, asked that the tomb be reopened. It was found to be empty except for the grave cloths, Mary dropped her girdle from Heaven as a sign of her Assumption. Two rival traditions place the Assumption as occurring either in Ephesus at the House of the Virgin Mary or Jerusalem at Mary’s Tomb. St. John of Damascus, in the 6th century, was the first church authority to advocate for the doctrine. He was joined by St. Gregory of Tours and Modestus of Jerusalem in in promoting the concept to the wider Church. Around 600 AD, the feast was officially established as the Dormition of Mary under Emperor Maurice. It was first officially celebrated in the West under Pope Selgius II and confirmed as a feast by Pope Leo IV. The theological debate continued following the Reformation until Pius XII defined it in 1950.
The Feast of the Assumption is celebrated as a public holiday in many Catholic and Eastern Orthodox countries. In Hungary, it is a national holiday because St. Stephen of Hungary, the nation’s first king, offered the royal crown to Mary upon his coronation. In France, a traditional pageant is held in which angels descend to a “sepulcher” and then reascend with an image of Mary. Many of the customs developed around the fact that August is a time when harvests are beginning. In German-speaking lands, August 15th to September 16th are called “Our Lady’s Thirty Days.” Assumption shrines in these places often depict Mary in a robe decorated with ears of grain and it is said that animals and plants lose their harmful traits during Our Lady’s Thirty Days and food produced during this time is especially wholesome and lasts longer. In Central Europe, the feast is called “Our Lady’s Herb Day” and herbs are blessed to increase their medicinal power and make them efficient against diseases. In Armenia, the first grapes of the season are blessed and then distributed to the family before breakfast. Sicilians observe a two-week fast from fruit before the Assumption. On the Assumption, they exchange baskets of fruit, have the fruit blessed and then serve it with dinner. In the Alps, priests traditionally ride out into the countryside and bless meadows, field and livestock with holy water. In Portugal, oceans and fisherman’s boats have traditionally been blessed. This tradition has also been brought to the United States in coastal towns.