Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
On this day people from all parts of Mexico make their way to Mexico's chief religious center at the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe, located in Villa de Guadalupe Hidalgo, a northern neighborhood of Mexico City. There, they will celebrate the Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe (The virgin mary) with a mass ceremony and a traditional fair in her honor.
The Story behind this celebration demonstrates how the Catholic faith gained importance in the hearts of the Mexican people. It is a story of miracles and faith which mark a change in the history of Mexico.
The Spaniards, after they conquered Mexico, had in mind the goal of converting the indigenous indians into Catholicism. But the Spaniards encountered many difficulties because the Mexican people had existing strong beliefs in their many gods. It wasn't until the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe and Juan Diego that this started to change.
Juan Diego was a young Indian walking toward the Hill of Tepeyac on December 12, 1531 when he was stopped by the appearance of the Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary appearing to Juan Diego was a young woman with black hair and dark skin which looked more like an indigenous person. She told Juan Diego to go to the Bishop and ask him to build a church at the Hill of Tepeyac.
Juan Diego then ran to the Bishop to tell him what the Virgin Mary had told him. The Bishop didn't believe what this young man was telling him and decided to ignore the petition. The Virgin Mary appeared again in front of Juan Diego and told him to collect flowers from the top of the hill, but because it was December Juan Diego knew that there was not going to be any flowers at the rocky hill. Upon reaching the top of the hill, Juan Diego was surprised to see that it was covered with colorful and beautiful flowers.
Juan Diego, as he was asked to, collected the flowers using his overcoat and ran again to see the Bishop. Juan Diego gave the coat full of flowers to the bishop, and here the bishop discovered the image of Virgin Mary's picture was miraculously traced on the coat. Seeing both the unseasonal flowers and the image of the Virgin, the Bishop realized Juan Diego had told him the truth and The Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe was built on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico City.
On the day of The Virgin of Guadalupe everyone in the town or city goes to a church and they pretty much just sing for the whole day.
Source: http://www.mexonline.com/virginofguadalupe.htm
