Good morning, welcome to our series featuring Unique Holidays: March 25th, 2022. I would like to ask you to check out the Holidays being celebrated today and let me know which Holiday you most want to celebrate and why. For me I think I will celebrate National Pecan Day and pick up Pecans for my snack. While David and Charlie said they would like to celebrate National Waffle Day and have Waffles for breakfast.
On this day, nine months before the birth of Jesus on Christmas morning, we celebrate the incarnation of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The Archangel Gabriel came to Mary of Nazareth and told her she was to bear the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
The Feast of the Annunciation, which is celebrated on March 25th every year, goes by many names. It is known as the Solemnity of the Annunciation, the Feast of the Incarnation, Conceptio Christi, or Lady Day. It is a Christian Holiday commemorating the visit of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, where he announced that she would give birth to Jesus Christ.
The Feast of the Annunciation cuts across many factions of Christianity, but it is specially celebrated in Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. The Holiday is counted as one of the eight great feasts of God in Orthodox Christianity, and it is a major Marian feast.
HISTORY OF FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION
Did you know The Feast of the Annunciation was celebrated as far back as the 4th or 5th Century, but the first certain mention of the feast was in the “Canons of the Councils of Toledo” and Constantinople. In 656 A.C., the Feast of the Annunciation was said to have been celebrated throughout the church in Toledo.
The Feast of the Annunciation is celebrated on March 25th every year in the Roman Catholic Church, except when the day falls during the Easter Triduum or Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday then the feast is transferred to the most suitable day during Easter side. However, the date never changes in Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholicism, even if it falls during Easter. When Easter and the Feast of the Annunciation fall on the same Holiday, it is called Kyriopascha.
The Annunciation is narrated in the Bible in the Book of Luke Chapter 1, from verses 26 to 38. According to the Bible, the angel Gabriel was sent to meet Mary, a Virgin in Nazareth, Galilee. Mary was betrothed at the time to a man named Joseph.
Angel Gabriel hailed Mary and told her not to fear because she had found grace with God. Angel Gabriel told her she would give birth to the Son of God. When Mary replied that she was a Virgin, Angel Gabriel reassured her that the Holy Ghost would come upon her. Angel Gabriel also informed her that her barren cousin, Elizabeth, would conceive a son as well, even in her old age. Mary responded, “be it done to me according to thy word.” Joseph also received an Annunciation later, as detailed in Matthew 1:18.
The Feast of the Annunciation celebrates God’s entrance into the human world through Jesus and Mary’s willingness to accept God’s command.
HOW TO CELEBRATE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION
- We should wear white at Church services during the Feast of the Annunciation. The color white is used because it represents purity, virtue, and holiness, traits Virgin Mary embodied. You can dig out your favorite white outfit and join in the celebrations.
- Say a Hail Mary which is one of the Prayers that were created from the Annunciation. The Hail Mary is a prayer to Saint Mary to act as an intercessor with her Son, Jesus Christ. If you’re Catholic, you can celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation by reciting the Hail Mary.
- Help a pregnant woman because pregnancy can be a very trying period for many women. In honor of Saint Mary, you should find a way to help or take care of a pregnant person around you.
5 FACTS ABOUT SAINT MARY AND THE ANNUNCIATION
- Interestingly, the house where Mary grew up and where she received the Annunciation is currently in Loreto, Italy
- The name ‘Jesus’ was given to Mary’s promised son following Angel Gabriel’s instructions to Mary.
- The Catholic Church claims that Mary remained a Virgin throughout her life despite being married to Joseph.
- The early Church chose March 25th as the day for the Feast of the Annunciation because they believed that people died on the same day they were conceived. People believed that was the day Jesus died.
- Leonardo Da Vinci was one of many Artists to depict the story of the Annunciation, which he did in his detailed painting “The Annunciation.”
WHY WE LOVE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION
- For many Christians, the Feast of the Annunciation represents the coming of hope to the world. The birth of Jesus Christ was a symbol of the restoration of the broken relationship between God and humans.
- The Feast of the Annunciation is a Holy Day. The pregnancy of the Virgin Mary is one of the greatest miracles to happen in Christian History. The Feast of the Annunciation celebrates divinity and other worldliness.
- On the Feast of the Annunciation, millions of people around the world forget any differences and come together to celebrate the announcement of the coming of Jesus Christ. It is beautiful to imagine millions of people reciting Hail Mary together on this Holiday.
Ask anyone and they will tell you that today is a Nutty day. That’s because today is Pecan Day. Did you know Pecan trees are the only Nut Tree native to North America? Pecan Trees are most common in the Southern U.S. Which is a good reason to celebrate this Holiday. The purpose of today is to commemorate March 25, 1775, the day George Washington planted a Pecan Tree at his Mount Vernon estate.
The roots of Pecans run very deep. Native Americans harvested Pecan Trees as a source of food for perhaps a thousand years prior to the arrival of European Settlers. During Colonial times, Pecan Tress became popular with early European Settlers, who foraged through the Woods to find Pecans. By the early 1770s, Pecan Trees were being grown in Long Island, New York farms. Around that time, Thomas Jefferson was also growing Pecan Trees on his Plantation at Monticello. Thomas Jefferson had brought the Pecan Trees up from the Southern United States. In 1775, Thomas Jefferson gifted a Pecan Tree to George Washington, who planted Pecan Trees on his estate at Mount Vernon. From North America, Pecan Trees grew in popularity around the world. Did you know, Pecan Trees can be found growing on every continent except Antarctica.
A Little Pecan Trivia:
- Pecans belong to the Hickory family.
- There are over 1,000 varieties of Pecans.
- Pecans aren’t technically Nuts. From a technical standing they are a Fruit!
- Mature Trees produce Nuts every other year.
- Mature plants produce Nuts for 50-60 years.
- The Trees live up to 300 years and grow up to 150 feet tall.
- 90% of worldwide production of Pecan s come from the United States.
Celebrate Pecan Day by cracking open and eating a few Pecan Nuts and don’t forget to have a slice of Pecan Pie and Butter Pecan Ice Cream.
History and Origin of “Pecan Day”:
The reason why we celebrate Pecan Day is clear the Holiday celebrates the day George Washington planted a Pecan Tree at Mount Vernon. Unfortunately, we have not yet identified the creator of this Holiday.
This Holiday appears to have been around since at least 2010.
Related Holidays:
International Waffle Day- March 25th
National Waffle Day- August 24th.
Waffle Day is a Holiday that you can Waffle on issues and decisions, and it certainly is a day to get the Waffle Iron and make Waffles for breakfast.
International Waffle Day
International Waffle Day originated in Sweden and was called Våffeldagen. The holiday coincides with the Feast of the Annunciation. This Holiday was also considered the start of Spring in Sweden and Europe.The Holiday became a custom for Swedish families to celebrate the two events by making Waffles on this Holiday.
National Waffle Day
Celebrates the patenting of the Waffle Iron by Cornelius Swarthout of Troy, New York on August 24th,1869.
The origin of the waffle: The Waffle dates back to the 1300s in Greece. Greeks cooked Flat Cakes between two metal pans. At the time, they topped Waffles with Cheeses and Herbs. Did you know Pancake Syrup wasn’t around back then?
Waffles are commonly eaten as breakfast or a snack, but Waffles can be a dinner meal for some people.
Also see Waffle Iron Day in June
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
