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Montifest 2015 ( Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary) – Celebration of the Family

Montifest or Nativity is the birthday of Blessed Virgin Mary which is celebrated on 8th September 2015. This feast is celebrated by Catholic communities residing in West coast of India specially Konkani speaking people. The feast of Mother Mary also coincides with the Harvest Festival. Today Monte fest has become a Global celebration among the people as the community spread all over the World.

There will be 9 days of Novena prayers that began on Sunday, 30th August 2015 until 7th September 2015 in all Catholic churches.   The novena days are the preparation for the Montifest and harvest feast for the whole family. The first day of the novena in preparation for the festival of harvest that coincides with the birthday of Mother Mary. The novena begins each day with the celebration of Holy Eucharist. At the end of the novena and mass service on each day, the crowd mainly children offer flowers in a ceremonious manner to Infant Mary. Sweets /sugarcane are distributed for all the children as well as the elders on the novena days. ..

After the 9th day of the novena, the Festival of Nativity and Harvest will be celebrated in a grand manner on Tuesday 8th September 2015.  During the days of the novena, we prepare well for this great solemnity, with much devotion.  We raise our hearts and minds to the Blessed Virgin Mary, invoking her help and protection. The grand celebration of Monthi Fest is held with traditional gaiety and religious fervor at all the Churches which are decorated tastefully for the occasion. Special masses, feasts, religious ceremonies and a series of festivities in churches, parishes and homes is the order of the day.

On this special day, the Catholic community members take the freshly grown paddy stalks to their respective churches in a procession as an offering of the first bounty of nature to Mother Mary. Special prayers are offered pleading the Holy Mother to keep the fertility of the nature for generations to come and provide all the bounties of nature to the children of the world. Montifest evokes a flood of fond nostalgic memories in their minds of sugarcane, sweets, borrowing flowers from the neighborhood, delicious meals from freshly harvested vegetables, vorn and so on. Also includes Blessing of the new corn, showering of flowers to Infant Mary, consuming the grains of the new harvest in a cup of milk or sweet “Vorn”, and eating a variety of vegetarian dishes at the festive meal.

This heartwarming harvest feast celebrates and culminates the hard work of the Konkan farmers with to the birthday of dear Mother Mary.

According to New Testament described (Gospels) Mary’s early history is that her parents as elderly couples St. Joachim and  St. Anne.  Mary was given to service as a consecrated virgin in the Temple in Jerusalem when she was three years old, much like Hannah took Samuel to the Tabernacle as recorded in the Old Testament.

According to Christian religious tradition, Mary  was an Israelite Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee and the mother of Jesus.  Among her many other names and titles are the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and Virgin Mary in Western churches.

By Alban D’ Souza – Udyavara ( Bajjodi – Mangalore)