Mary, Mother of God

On the octave day of Christmas the Church honors Mary under her greatest title: Mother of God. The Council of Ephesus in 431 solemnly declared that Mary is the Theotokos, the God-bearer, because the child she conceived and bore is truly God made man. The title protects the truth about Jesus as much as it honors his mother.

Since the liturgical reform of 1969 the Roman Calendar celebrates this solemnity on January 1, the day the Gospel recalls the shepherds' visit and the naming of Jesus. In 1968 Pope Saint Paul VI also made New Year's Day the World Day of Peace, so the Church begins every civil year by asking Mary's intercession for peace in families and among nations.

It is a holy day of obligation in the United States and in many countries, and many families start the year at Mass. In Latin America and Spain people attend Mass after the New Year's Eve celebrations, and many homes consecrate the new year to the Virgin with a rosary or a blessing of the family.

The Te Deum is often sung on the evening of December 31 in thanksgiving for the past year, and the Veni Creator on January 1 to ask the Holy Spirit's guidance for the year ahead.