In month of December many fall festivity, the first in chronological order is celebrated every year8 December and it's the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
A National Day with a very important value
La feast of the Immaculate Conception conception fits into the path ofAdvent, that is, of the four weeks preceding the Christmas day. It is a period of reflection but also of joy in which it makes particular sense to find a space for Marian worship, given that it is precisely Virgin Mary to carry in the womb Jesus.
This festival has a double face: spiritual and traditional. For those who have a living and heartfelt faith, it is one of the most important anniversaries of the year. For all, it coincides with the symbolic beginning of the Christmas season and it is precisely the day when the Christmas tree is made.
The Immaculate Conception is a Catholic dogma, proclaimed by Pope Pius IX on 8 December 1854 with the bull Ineffabilis Deus. It establishes how the Virgin Mary was preserved immune from original sin from the first moment of her conception.
The dogma of the Immaculate Conception concerns original sin. According to the Catholic church, every human being is born with original sin and only the Mother of Christ was exempt from it. In view of the Messiah's coming and mission on Earth, God was pleased that the Virgin should be the sinless abode to keep the divine Son made man in her womb in a worthy and perfect way.
Why is the Christmas tree decorated on the day of the Immaculate Conception?
December 8th is the date on which the Christmas tree, real or fake, is decorated and the nativity scene is set up.
How come on this very day? The tradition of the Christmas tree comes from Northern Europe and probably has pagan origins.
With the penetration of Christianity in the different geographical areas of Europe this tradition has taken on a different meaning. The fir, and precisely to burn a fir, did not simply mean saying goodbye to the year just passed, but through the light of the fire the light that the Baby Jesus he had brought to Earth with his birth.
Most likely over the years this tradition has overlapped with that ofImmaculate Conception. However, it must be said that the8 December it is not synonymous with tree and nativity scene throughout Italy or around the world.
A Milan, for example, the tree is set up on 7 December. Day of celebration Sant'Ambrogio, Patron of Milan.
In the city of Bari, on the other hand, the tree is decorated 6 December, day dedicated to the patron saint, San Nicola.
Finally, in more distant countries, such as the United States, the tree is decorated much later, even on December 23rd, just before Christmas!
Traditions related to Feast of the Immaculate they differ from Region to Region
In Abruzzo, Puglia and the Marche, it is still alive the custom of fires and faugni.
I fires they are large bonfires lit in the streets and refer to different symbols. There light of the child, but also the desire to illuminate the path of the Virgin Mary towards Bethlehem or, again, to dry the cold clothes of the Baby Jesus. The will to purify oneself and to keep temptations at bay is also represented in the fire.
I faugni instead they are very large torches that are carried in procession in the villages.
In both cases it is a ritual that gathers the community of the country around it.
Regarding traditional foods, in several countries they eat pancakes dipped in honey, one of the typical sweets of the night of theImmaculate Conception.
