DEC 8- FEAST OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Cebu, Philippines — December 8 is a special non-working holiday in commemoration of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary.

Based on Republic Act No. 10966, signed in 2017, the government declared December 8 of every year as a special non-working holiday across the nation.

The Immaculate Conception is included among the holidays in 2021 that Malacañang earlier released.

Employees who will work during the said holiday are entitled to 30-percent overtime pay.


Mary is the principal patroness of the Philippines.

HISTORY

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, also called Immaculate Conception Day, celebrates the belief in the sinless lifespan, and Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, celebrated on December 8, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary, celebrated on September 8. It is one of the most important Marian feasts in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church celebrated worldwide.

By Pontifical decree, it is the patronal feast day of Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Korea, Nicaragua, Paraguay, the Philippines, Spain, the United States, and Uruguay. By royal decree, it is designated as the day honoring the patroness of Portugal. It is celebrated by the Roman Catholic Church and some select Protestant Christian denominations.

Since 1953, the Pope visits the Column of the Immaculate Conception in the Piazza di Spagna to offer expiatory prayers commemorating the solemn event.

The feast was first solemnized as a Holy Day of Obligation on 6 December 1708 under the Papal Bull Commissi Nobis Divinitus by Pope Clement XI and is often celebrated with Catholic Mass, parades, fireworks, processions, food, and cultural festivities in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary and is generally considered a Family Day, especially in many pious Catholic countries.