Celebrating the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe
During the pre-dawn hours of Dec. 12, people around the world began celebrating the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Devotees flocked to church services, placing flowers beneath her image and singing the beloved Mexican standard “Las Mañanitas” (“The Morning Song”).
Our Lady of Guadalupe – also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (La Virgen de Guadalupe) – refers to the iconic depiction of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, as she is believed to have miraculously appeared to St. Juan Diego, an indigenous man, in Mexico in 1531.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is also described as la virgen morena (the brown-skinned virgin), because according to Catholic tradition she resembled a dark-haired woman with brown skin. A centuries-old tilma (cactus fiber cloak) with her celebrated image is housed at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.