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The Immaculate Conception in one minute
December 8 is the feast day of all the Inmaculadas, Inmas, Concepcions, Conchas, and Conchitas. And it is no ordinary day: it is the feast of the Immaculate Conception, patroness of Spain, and a public holiday throughout the country.
Where these names come from
Inmaculada and Concepción come from the same dogma: the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the belief that the Virgin was conceived without original sin. Pope Pius IX proclaimed it dogma on December 8, 1854, but devotion in Spain dates back centuries: the Immaculate Conception has been patroness of Spain since 1760. Concha and Conchita come from Concepción; Inma from Inmaculada.
A very Spanish custom
By special privilege granted to Spain, on that day priests celebrate Mass wearing a sky-blue chasuble, a color not used by the rest of the Church. And in Seville, on the eve of the feast, the tunas sing hymns to the Immaculate Conception in front of her monument in the Plaza del Triunfo. Many families prepare with the novena to the Immaculate Conception, from November 29 to December 7.
More Immaculate Conception medals to give as gifts
Ideas for celebrating an Inma or Concha
- A message first thing in the morning: it is a bank holiday and many will be away.
- A family meal, which coincides with the start of Christmas.
- A gift that lasts: an Immaculate Conception medal, with her name and her feast day.
Facts you can check
- In Rome, the Immaculate Conception has her own column in the Spanish Steps: it stands 12 meters tall and was inaugurated on December 8, 1857. Every December 8, the Pope prays at its base and the firefighters are the first to lay flowers. Source
- One of Murillo's most famous Immaculate Conceptions, the Venerables or "de Soult", was painted in Seville in 1678. Marshal Soult took it to Paris, the Louvre bought it in 1852 and it returned to Spain in 1941, in exchange for a portrait of Mariana of Austria painted by Velázquez. Today it is in the Prado. Source
- Four years after the dogma, on March 25, 1858, at the sixteenth apparition of Lourdes, the Virgin told Bernadette her name in the local dialect: "Que soy era Immaculada Councepciou", "I am the Immaculate Conception". Source
- The feast of December 8 is more than five centuries old: Pope Sixtus IV established it in 1476 and Clement XI extended it to the whole Church in 1708. Source
A medal for her feast day
If you want something more special, the Immaculate Conception pack with Paula necklace comes ready to give as a gift. Discover all our Immaculate Conception medals and our guide to choosing one. Order before December 4 to ensure it arrives in time.
Marian and Bárbara