Intercession of Virgin Mary for the Sowing (Hido D'Yoldath Aloho Hal Zar'he)

Intercession of Virgin Mary for the Sowing (Hido D'Yoldath Aloho Hal Zar'he)

January 15th is the Feast of the Virgin Mary for the Sowing (Hido d'yoldath Aloho hal zar'he) according to the Liturgical Calendar of the Syriac Orthodox Church. St. Mary is venerated with great devotion in the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. In addition to the various Feasts of the Virgin associated with the Lord & the Feast of her Nativity, there are three other Feasts that are celebrated by the faithful with much fervor. Syriac poets called the 'Potters' (Quqoye) attribute setting these feasts of the Virgin Mary to St. John the Evangelist. Those poets are quoted saying: “With dew & drizzle the land of Ephesus was sprinkled when St. John brought to it the messages of the Virgin Mary commanding that the blessed Feasts of the Virgin be celebrated three times a year. The Feast of the Virgin Mary of the sowing is in January. In May is the Feast of the Virgin Mary for blessing the crops & in August is her Feast of the blessing of the vineyards, which are the symbol of the mystery of life”.These three Feasts are on the fifteenth day of the three aforementioned months:1) January 15: Sowing (zar'he, ܙܪ̈ܥܐ)According to tradition, during the flight into Egypt following King Herod's call for the murder of the Christ child, an angel of God was with Sts. Joseph and Mary throughout their journey with the infant Jesus. The family passes through a recently sown field and the power of the angel accelerates the growth of the seeds and the wheat appears full overnight. As the soldiers soon reach, they demand an answer from the farmers as to the whereabouts of the infant Jesus and His parents. The farmers tremble in fear, but one responds saying that the family passed through the field when the seeds were first planted. The soldiers look to see a field full of wheat crop ready for the harvest; believing that a long span of time has passed since the family went through the field, the soldiers abandon their persecution and return to their kingdom. 2) May 15: Crops (s'heble, ܫܒ̈ܠܐ), from which the wheat is processed into bread. This bread is used for the celebration of the Holy Qurbono (the lahmo). 3) August 15: Grapevine (sate, ܣ̈ܬܐ), from which comes the wine. This wine is used for the Divine Eucharistic celebration. This feast was replaced by the Dormition (shunoyo).Source: 'The Holy Virgin Mary in the Syriac Orthodox Church' and Miss Ranya Kucukkaplan The Holy Bible readings from the Church Lectionary:Evening:St. Matthew 13:1-9Morning:St. Matthew 23:10-13Before Holy Qurbono:Genesis 28:1-19Bar Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 3:1-12Isaiah 19:1-8Holy Qurbono:Acts 18:12-28Hebrews 7:1-17St. Matthew 12:30-37Tone of the Day: 1Syriac Prayers: https://tinyurl.com/2jsp9a3sThe tradition of Malankara Nasrani agriculturalists & the harvest feasts: https://tinyurl.com/2rwmvu6hFixed Feast