Immaculate Conception Day in 2024

When is Immaculate Conception?

Any Christian holiday that takes place in December is always in the shadow of Christmas Day. It is therefore surprising to some to see how many countries observe this holiday.

On December 8th, many countries including Argentina, Austria, Chile, Colombia, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain celebrate the Feast of the Immaculate Conception with a public holiday.

In the Philippines in 2017, President Duterte signed a law that declared the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th as a national holiday in recognition of the Filipinos’ strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This has now become a special working day.

This day is also a holiday in Panama, who celebrate Mother's Day with a public holiday on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Guam also observe a public holiday to venerate a statue of Mary on December 8th. 

History of Immaculate Conception

It is a day that celebrates the belief that Mary, mother of Jesus, was preserved from original sin all of her life.

For Roman Catholics, it is observed as a day of obligation with required church attendance.

The Immaculate Conception is a day whose meaning is often confused. By the sounds of it, one would think we would celebrate the day Jesus was conceived*. On the contrary, it is the day that the Blessed Mother Mary was conceived. 

Mary's mother was St. Anne and her father was Joachim. While they are not mentioned in the bible, their names appear in some very early Christian texts. Anne and Joachim had been a childless couple until an angel appeared telling Anne that she would give birth to a child that the world would honour. Anne became a saint as she offered her child to God's service.

This day has been celebrated since at least the eighth century, but the idea that the word immaculate means that Mary was born without original sin divided many theological scholars over the centuries. It wasn't until 1854 that the argument was decided when Pope Pious IX proclaimed this belief to be an essential dogma of the Roman Catholic Church.

*If you think about it, December 8th is unlikely to be the date that Jesus was "conceived". It is the Feast of the Annunciation that celebrates the visit of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary to announce to her that she would become the mother of Jesus. The date of the Feast of the Annunciation is March 25th - nine months before Christmas Day. Once the date of Christmas was finally accepted, then the March 25th was a no-brainer to be the date of the annunciation.

History of the Immaculate Conception in Austria

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception is a national holiday in Austria that dates back to the 17th century.

Following the Thirty Year's War in 1647, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III believed that the Virgin Mary had saved Vienna, Austria and the rest of the Holy Roman Empire from the Protestant armies that had caused so much devastation across Europe.

As a way of honouring the Virgin Mary, Ferdinand instigated the observation of the festival across Austria. 

Ferdinand had a column erected at the Mariensäule Am Hof, in Vienna’s city centre. The inscription specifically references the Virgin Mary's supposed role in saving the city from being destroyed.

Traditions of the Immaculate Conception in Austria

December 8th is the traditional date when the baking of Christmas cookies should begin. In the 17th century, it was believed that failure to observe the holiday would result in a visitation by a ghostly woman dressed in white.

Most businesses and government offices will be closed on this day, and public transport will run to differing timetables. Workers will get the day off.