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It is the day prior to the commemoration of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary which was dictated in 1854 by Pope Pius IX and celebrated with candles by the parishioners.
Every December 7, the Day of the Candles is celebrated throughout the country. Like all Christmas celebrations, this one also has a religious component, specifically Catholic. On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary through the bull Ineffabilis Deus. In response, thousands of people around the world took to the streets and lit candles to celebrate the decision.
“We define, affirm and pronounce that the doctrine that maintains that the Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved immune from all stain of original guilt from the first moment of her conception, by the singular privilege and grace of Almighty God, in attention to the merits of Christ- Jesus, Savior of the human race, has been revealed by God and therefore must be firmly and constantly believed by all the faithful ”, reads the document that bears the signature of Pope Pius IX.
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Within the same bull it is affirmed that the decision cannot be reversed or changed by any other Pope who considers the contrary. Every December 8 in Colombia the festival is commemorated in all regions of the country where the most believing people go to churches and carry out different processions in commemoration of the Virgin Mary and her immaculate status.
The festival celebrated the day before, known as the Day of the Candles, is held as a prelude to the feast of the Day of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. In addition, it serves to start the Christmas celebrations that continue with the novenas that start every December 16.
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There is no exact date that indicates when the Day of the Candles is celebrated. The essence of the festival is the family and community gathering to light candles in honor of the Virgin Mary and her purity, as her condition as a person free from sin is claimed since the conception of her son Jesus, according to Catholic belief.
