It's almost Our Lady's birthday...

On September 8 the Church celebrates the feast of the Birth of Mary. We don't actually know her real birthday, but tradition holds that she was the only child of St. Anne and St Joachim. According to my book, Marian Devotions in the Domestic Church, "this feast was celebrated by Christians in Syria and Palestine as early as the sixth century, when on a particular Sept. 8 a church in Jerusalem was consecrated in Mary's honor. Over the next several centuries observance spread to the Western Church; by the Middle Ages it was a public holy day and remained a day of obligation until 1918."

Well, our parish is having our annual picnic that day and I've ordered a birthday cake with blue and white roses (yay Costco!). We've planned on having all the tables covered in tablecloths of varying shades of blue and the picture is of the placemats I'm writing on. Each one says "Happy birthday Mary!" and it has a title of Our Lady. More pictures later with, but what are your favorite titles so I can be sure to include them? I've still got 20 mats to go!

Also, don't forget to celebrate at home! Make or buy a cake or cupcakes and sing to Our Lady. Kids love to sing happy birthday! Got a blue tablecloth? Bust it out for one night. Grab leftover party hats ,banners, blowers, etc and you've got an evening the kids will LOVE and will build a Catholic culture in your home. 😀