Immaculate Conception in Italy

Despite the fact that Immaculate Conception has been observed even in earlier centuries, it wasn’t until the year 1854 when December 8 was officially declared as a holy day by the Vatican. It was specifically proclaimed by Pope Pius IX. The pope refers to the head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Bishop of Rome. As early as 1953, it has been a tradition for the Pope to pay a visit to the 19th century Italian monument called Column of the Immaculate Conception. The pope offers prayers as part of the celebration of the ceremonial holy event. The monument portrays the Virgin Mary and is located in the Central Rome towards to the Piazza di Spagna. The original event was first celebrated by the Eastern Church on December 9 as a Feast of the Conception of the Most Holy and All Pure Mother of God. It was observed in the 5th century in Syria, a country in the Middle East. By the time when the feast was converted by the Western Christian Church, the holiday began to be celebrated on December 9 commemorating the conservation and being sinless and pure of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ.

Attending Church services

Considering that it’s a Christian holiday, churches in Rome are usually filled with people like the ones around St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City. Several people celebrate this day by attending church services. Special masses are offered and attended by Christians in several churches across Italy. Some parts in Italy also made it a tradition to offer a cultural dance on this holiday. Some Italians wear costumes on this commemoration. A lot of streets in the country are filled with festive atmosphere together with the religious music being played in several areas in Italy. It is also common to see shops selling some religious artworks such as paintings, artifacts, souvenirs, statues, and more.

Public Events

One of the areas in Italy where large crowds gather to celebrate this holiday is in Spanish Square, particularly at the Marian Column and the Spanish Steps in Rome. Religious and military parades are also observed on this day. Usually, the ones who lead the parade holds the statue of the Virgin Mary. In recent years, the holiday is now celebrated with grand fireworks for the public to enjoy. All of these occurrences and events are usually celebrated by most Italians with their families, friends, and relatives.

Early Christmas Shopping

Many Italians consider Immaculate Conception as a mark or the opening period of the Christmas season of the year, since it falls on the month of December. It is prevalent to see a large crowd shopping to buy decorations to be used for the upcoming holiday as most Christmas shops start to open on this day. This day is a public holiday however, an extra day off work is not necessarily observed if the holiday falls on a weekend (especially on Sunday) considering that weekends are usually the rest day for most Italian laborers. On this day, most government offices, banks, businesses, and other corporations are closed if the holiday falls on weekday.