Dia de las Velitas

Day of the Candles

In Columbia, South America, Dia de las Velitas (Day of the Candles) is celebrated today, on the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

The festivities date back to the mid-1850s when Pope Pius IX declared the Immaculate Conception to be a dogma of the Catholic Church.

To show their support in the 1850s, the people lit candles and put up paper lanterns & placed them in their windows, balconies, public squares, etc. It became a tradition. Isn't it beautiful?

H/T Modern Commentaries
(From the Little Blue Book, copyright 2007 Diocese of Saginaw)