Mary, Mother of God

On the octave day of Christmas the Church honors the Blessed Virgin Mary under her most ancient title: Mother of God. At the Council of Ephesus in 431 she was solemnly proclaimed Theotokos — the God-bearer — because the child she conceived by the Holy Spirit is true God and true man. The feast closes the Christmas octave and opens the calendar year under Mary's motherly care. It is a Holy Day of Obligation in the United States, except in years when it falls on a Saturday or Monday, when the obligation is lifted.