Our Lady of Good Health, Vailankanni
According to Indiaprofile.com:
From the 16th century... comes a legend that a shepherd boy saw a beautiful lady with a baby in her arms. After the baby had drunk milk from the boy's pot, the pot still brimmed over with milk. The pond near which the boy had seen the lady is still called the Matha Kulam: Our Lady's Tank. Then, a crippled boy was cured by a vision of the same lady and her child. A Catholic from Nagapattinam built a thatched chapel at the spot and installed a beautiful statue of Our Lady with the infant Jesus held in her left arm.There's a branch of the Vailankanni shrine in Chennai, which is also very popular. (Update: an article about the festival as it is observed at the shrine here in Chennai.)
Later, in the 17th century, a storm-tossed Portuguese ship was saved from being wrecked after its sailors prayed to Our Lady, the Mother of Jesus Christ. The Portuguese, in gratitude, built a brick and mortar church and moved the statue from the thatched chapel to their new shrine.
Over the intervening centuries, the church was improved and reconstructed...
The outpouring of devotion is greatest on the 8th of September, every year: the traditional birth anniversary of Our Lady. The festivities, however, begin nine days earlier, on the 29th of August. After attending the Holy Mass... pilgrims bring their offerings of garlands, candles and coconut-palm saplings. Many of them wear the saffron robes of renunciation, have their heads shaved, and prostrate themselves at the feet of the statue. When the Mass is over, they often offer each other sweets.
Many of these customs are unique to the Church in India. Some like the offering of coconut saplings are typical of the faiths of our southern states. Another feature of worship in south India is an event which occurs at midday: the hoisting of the festival flag, in this case the Flag of Our Lady. A fair number of the devotees we spoke to believed that this is the most auspicious moment of the festival and everyone who is present and sees the flat being hoisted, receives special blessings and graces from the Holy Mother.
According to a well-established Hindu tradition, there are two types of idols in their temples: the installed idol who is never moved out of the temple and the processional idol who is carried in a chariot or palanquin during festive days so that all visitors can get a grace-bestowing glimpse of the deity. This revered custom, too, has been adopted by Vailankanni. Every evening during the festival, two cars and a chariot are carried by devotees in procession. The statue of Our Lady is enthroned in the main illuminated chariot. It is considered to be a great privilege to touch the chariot and cars, and an even greater privilege to carry them...
On the evening of the 8th of September, the flag is lowered and the festival ends....
See a video of the festival.
Listen to Tamil Christian songs.
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