Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

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The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God also known as the Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God is a Christian feast celebrated on January 1 on the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar. In the old Latin calendar, the feast was known as Circumcision of the Lord. The first of January is the octave day of Christmas and thus an extension of the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord. In many countries this day is a holy day of obligation.

The feast is a celebration of the motherhood of Mary both divine and virginal. The title, “Mother of God,” is a western derivation from the Greek, “theotokos,” literally translated God-bearer. The term “theotokos” was adopted at the ecumenical council at Ephesus as a way to assert the divinity of Christ, from which it follows that what is predicated of Christ is predicated of God. So, if Mary is the mother of Jesus, she is the mother of God. Therefore, the title, “Mother of God”, and the “Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God”, which celebrates her under this title, are at once Mariological and Christological. As the conclusion of the octave of Christmas, this feast demonstrates for Catholics that Mary’s role is always to direct the believer toward her son.