Quick Facts
- Date: September 8
- Type of Feast: Feast
- Readings: Micah 5:1-4A or Romans 8:28-30; Psalm 13:6AB, 6C; Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 or Matthew 1:18-23
- Prayers: The Hail Mary, Prayer for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Other Names for the Feast: The Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary; The Virgin Mary's Birthday
History of the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Even though we cannot trace the celebration of the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary back any further than the eighth century, the source for the story of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary is much older. It is thought that this feast originated in connection with the Feast of the dedication of a church dedicated to Mary, now the Church of St Ann, in Jerusalem in the 6th century. Tradition holds that this is where the house of Mary’s parents, Joachim and Ann, stood and where she would have been born. Nothing can be found in the Gospels to confirm this feast. From tradition that comes from the Protoevangelium of James, we learn the names of Mary's parents, Joachim and Anna, as well as the tradition that the couple was childless until an angel appeared to Anna and told her that she would conceive.
The Reason for the Date
The traditional date of the feast, September 8, falls exactly nine months after the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Perhaps because of its close proximity to the feast of the Assumption of Mary, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not celebrated today with the same solemnity as the Immaculate Conception. It is, nonetheless, a very important feast, because it prepares the way for the birth of Christ. It is also an unusual feast, because it celebrates a birthday.
Why Do We Celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary's Birthday?
The feasts of saints are traditionally celebrated on the day of their death, because that is the date on which they entered into eternal life. And, indeed, we also celebrate the Blessed Virgin Mary's entrance into Heaven on August 15, the Feast of the Assumption.
There are only two people whose birthdays have traditionally been celebrated by Christians. Jesus Christ, at Christmas and the Blessed Virgin Mary. And we celebrate these birthdays for the same reason: they were born without Original Sin. Christ, because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and Mary, because she was kept free from the stain of Original Sin by the action of God in His foreknowledge that she would agree to be the mother of Christ.
From: learnreligions.com
