EVERY eighth of December, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is observed. 

The day is a special non-working holiday in the entire country under Republic Act 10966, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte  in 2017. 

The law states that the holiday is meant to commemorate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the principal patroness of the Philippines. 

December 8 marks one of the most important celebrations in Roman Catholicism because it commemorates the day when Mary was carried into the womb of her mother Anne.

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is the belief that Mary was conceived without original sin since the beginning of her life. There was neither an indication nor belief that Anne and her partner Joachim brought Mary into existence in a natural way that parents would conceive a child.

People commonly mistaken the conception of the Immaculate as the birth of Jesus. 

If it were referring to Jesus’  birth, the Immaculate Conception would be commemorated on March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, nine months before Christmas. Theologians believe that this was God’s way of preparing Mary to be the mother of the Messiah.

Catholics normally celebrate the feast of Immaculate Conception by having processions, parades and church mass to honor the Virgin Mary.

Image courtesy to: Opus Dei Org