The Feast of the Annunciation falls in a tough spot on the liturgical calendar. Due to its position in late March, it often falls during Lent, when the Church is focused on approaching the Passion and death of Our Lord with repentance, sorrow, and penance.
At other times, the Annunciation falls during the jubilance of the Easter cycle and is postponed until the Church’s main celebration of the Resurrection is completed.
Hoping to get around these difficulties, some Spanish bishops petitioned for a different feast day at the tenth Council of Toledo in 656. They were allowed to place the feast on December 18, eight days before Christmas, and attach an octave to it. That way, since they were already preparing for the coming of the Savior, the Annunciation would fit right in with the liturgical cycle.
Spain observed this feast for decades, but the bishops eventually decided to return to the date kept by the rest of the Church. They encouraged the faithful, however, to keep December 18 as a feast, meditating on the Blessed Mother’s expectation of giving birth to the Christ Child.
After a time, this practice spread through the Church and the day became known as the Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The feast invites us to look upon the birth of our Savior as the Blessed Mother would have done: longing to see Him after His hidden sojourn in her womb, eager for the glorification of God on earth, and desiring to throw open the doors of our hearts to receive Him.
Contemplate Our Lady’s motherhood at Christmas and throughout the year with this Our Lady of Hope Musical Figurine. Depicting the Blessed Mother standing near the manger—ready with swaddling clothes—and lovingly touching her womb, this figurine doubles as a devotional and a Brahms’s lullaby musical box. Available today at The Catholic Company!
