The 8th of December marks the Feast of the Immaculate Conception – a holiday that is observed in several countries since the eighth century, such as Italy, Argentina, Spain, and Chile. It is also considered as a day of obligation for Roman Catholics; entailing the attendance of church.

The notion behind the day often perplexes many people. It is a misconception that the Feast of the Immaculate Conception celebrates the day Jesus was conceived, but rather, it is the day that the Virgin Mary was conceived. Ergo, the day celebrates the mother of Jesus, and the doctrine that she was preserved from original sin her entire life.

The holiday had been a topic of debate since its inception; the belief that in this context the term “immaculate” conveys that the Blessed Mother was born without original sin caused controversy amongst numerous theological scholars. Nevertheless, in the year 1854, Pope Pious IX settled the contention by proclaiming this belief as a substantial tenet of the Roman Catholic Church.

Noteworthy, in 2017, President Duterte of the archipelagic country, the Republic of the Philippines, promulgated the Feast of Immaculate Conception as a national holiday – a tribute to the ardent devotion of Filipinos to the mother of Jesus. Notwithstanding, it has now become a special working day, instead.