Every day millions of believers ask an important question: what holiday is today in the Church calendar, what are the folk signs and customs, what is strictly forbidden on this day, whose name day is celebrated, and how to call down God’s blessing on the family through a strong prayer. September 8 is one of the greatest feasts of the whole Church year (new calendar / Revised Julian): the Orthodox and Catholic Churches together celebrate the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos — the day when in the family of the righteous Joachim and Anna the Virgin Mary was born, She who was to become the Mother of the Savior of the world. This is the first great feast of the new Church year, which began on September 1 — and the sequence itself is deeply symbolic: the Church year begins with the birth of Her through whom Christ will come into the world. This guide explores the history of the feast, the lives of the righteous Joachim and Anna, the meaning of the feast for everyone who prays and waits, the folk traditions of the day, and offers the canonical prayers.
1. The History of the Feast: Joachim and Anna — a Prayer That Lasted Decades
The story of the Nativity of the Theotokos is not recorded in the Gospels — it came to the Church through ancient tradition written down in the Protoevangelium of James (2nd century), which, though not part of the canon of Scripture, preserved for the Church the memory of the childhood of the Most Holy Virgin. According to this tradition, in the small Galilean town of Nazareth lived a couple, Joachim and Anna — he of the lineage of King David, she of the tribe of Aaron. Both were righteous before God and lived together for long years in love and prayer — but they had one deep wound: they had no children, for Anna was barren.
In those times barrenness was considered a sign of God’s disfavor, a great shame and even a punishment. Once Joachim brought gifts to the Temple of Jerusalem, but the priest rejected his offering with the words: “You are not worthy to offer gifts, for you have left no offspring in Israel.” Crushed, Joachim did not return home but went into the wilderness, where he fasted and prayed with tears for forty days. Anna meanwhile remained in Nazareth and also prayed, weeping; seeing a bird’s nest with chicks on a tree, she cried out: “Even the birds of heaven are happier than I, for they have children!” — and at that moment, to her as to Joachim in the wilderness, an Angel of the Lord appeared and announced: “Your prayer has been heard, and your tears have come before God. You shall conceive and bear a Daughter, and in Her shall all the families of the earth be blessed; and you shall call Her name Mary.” Both spouses vowed to dedicate the child to God. And in the appointed time Anna bore a Daughter, and they called Her Mary — a name meaning “Grace”, “Lady”, “Mistress”. Thus was born She who was destined to become the Mother of the Son of God.
2. The Meaning of the Feast: Why the Nativity of the Theotokos Is the Beginning of Salvation
The Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos is called the beginning of the salvation of the human race, for on this day was born She through whom God would enter the world. The Church sings this in the troparion of the feast: “Your Nativity, O Virgin Theotokos, has proclaimed joy to the whole world, for from You has risen the Sun of Righteousness — Christ our God.” In this phrase lies the whole theological depth of the feast: as before sunrise the sky begins to brighten before the sunrise itself, so the Nativity of the Theotokos is the dawn of salvation that precedes the Nativity of Christ.
The sequence of the Church year itself teaches this: the year begins on September 1, and the first great feast of the year is the Nativity of the Theotokos — the first step of the ladder by which God descends to people. The feast also has deep meaning for everyone who prays and waits: the story of Joachim and Anna is the story of a prayer that lasted decades and was not heard “in time” but was heard “best of all”. The Church sets them up as a model for all who wait: for barren couples, for parents praying for their children, for all who have been asking for years and see no answer. Their story says: God’s answer is not late — it ripens.
3. The Origin of the Feast: From Jerusalem to the Whole World
The feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos belongs to the most ancient Marian feasts. It arose in Jerusalem in the fifth century, where near the pool of Bethesda (where, according to tradition, was the house of Joachim and Anna) a church was built in honor of the parents of the Theotokos — today on this site stands the Church of Saint Anne, one of the oldest preserved churches in Jerusalem. In the sixth and seventh centuries the feast spread to Constantinople and from there to the whole East; in the West it was established by Pope Sergius I in the seventh century, and since then September 8 has been celebrated by both branches of Christianity. In Ukraine the feast of the Nativity of the Theotokos has long been among the most beloved Marian feasts: countless churches have been built in its honor, and the feast in folk tradition was simply called “Prechysta” (the Most Pure).
4. The Icon of the Feast: What Is Depicted on the Icon of the Nativity of the Theotokos
The classic icon of the Nativity of the Theotokos tells the story of the feast in images. In the center is righteous Anna, resting on her bed after childbirth, and next to her the infant Mary, often not in a cradle but in the arms of her mother or in the arms of the handmaidens preparing the bath for the newborn: this is the image of Mary being chosen and dedicated to God from the first days. Beside them is righteous Joachim, often with gifts in his hands, and in the background symbols shared with other Marian feasts: Jacob’s ladder connecting heaven and earth (the image of Mary, by whom God descended to people), and the doors through which no one has passed (the image of the Virgin). Every detail of the icon is theology in color: the birth of the Virgin is depicted not as an ordinary domestic scene but as the beginning of the great mystery of salvation.
5. What Is Forbidden on September 8 — Folk Signs and Customs
In the folk calendar September 8 is Prechysta, one of the most beloved autumn feasts. The main customs: to go to church for the festive Liturgy, to pray to the Most Holy Theotokos for the family, the children and all who wait and pray; on this day especially barren couples prayed, asking for the gift of children after the example of Joachim and Anna, and mothers for their children. It was believed that prayer to the Theotokos on this day has special power, for the feast is Her own. In many places on Prechysta the autumn works began: the harvest was finished, winter sowing began, and houses were prepared for winter. Folk signs for September 8: clear and warm weather on Prechysta — a warm autumn; rain on this day — a wet autumn and early spring; much spiderweb — a clear autumn; cranes flying high and slowly — a late winter; if Prechysta is clear, all September will be clear.
What is forbidden on September 8: one must not quarrel, swear or wish evil on one’s neighbor — the great Marian feast teaches peace and gentleness; one should not work hard without necessity, it is better to give the day to prayer and church; swearing, envy and refusing help to those who ask are forbidden; one must not be sad or grumble, for the feast is a day of the joy that the Theotokos brought to the whole world; by belief, one should not lend money or begin great undertakings without prayer on this day. Instead, the day is best given to the Liturgy, prayer to the Theotokos, works of mercy and quiet family joy.
6. The Spiritual Laws of Life: the Law of Thanksgiving and the Commandment of Love
The prayer life of a Christian obeys unshakable spiritual laws. The first is the law of thanksgiving and spiritual abundance. The Apostle Paul teaches: “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:18). The Nativity of the Theotokos is a feast born of a prayer of thanksgiving: Joachim and Anna, having waited for their child, brought Her to the temple with thanksgiving, and this thanksgiving became the beginning of salvation. When we sincerely thank God for the years lived and continue to ask with trust, we release the power of His grace, which acts in His time. The second is the fulfilment of the Commandments of Love for God and neighbour (Mt. 22:37-39): Joachim and Anna did not grow bitter over their long barrenness but turned their pain into prayer and a vow of love. Let us too learn to turn our expectations into prayer and our pain into love, and then our life, like the life of Joachim and Anna, will become a step by which God descends into the world.
7. Hesychast Watchfulness (Nepsis) and Prayer on the Rope
In Orthodox hesychasm and the Athonite tradition, spiritual watchfulness (nepsis) is the foundation of the soul’s salvation, and the Most Holy Theotokos is the highest model of such watchfulness: She “kept all these words, pondering them in Her heart” (Lk. 2:19), keeping Her mind in God even in the hardest moments. When our mind is attacked by thoughts of despair — “it is too late”, “God does not hear”, “nothing will change” — the hesychasts advise immediately cutting them off with the short, rhythmic prayer on the rope (komboskini), joining it with the invocation of the Theotokos. A short prayer for the day:
Most Holy Theotokos, You who were born of the long years’ prayer of Joachim and Anna, teach me to wait with faith and thanksgiving, intercede for me and my family, and entreat Your Son to have mercy on me, a sinner.
8. The Power of Communal Prayer
Communal prayer has the promise of extraordinary power from the Lord Himself: “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20). Dear brothers and sisters! We invite you to join the prayer circle on Pray.ee. If you or your loved ones are praying for the gift of children, waiting for an answer to a long prayer, going through illness, hardship or danger, or if you simply wish to congratulate your Marys on their name day and pray to the Theotokos for your family, write the names (for health and God’s protection) and your needs in the comments below. Our great Christian family will remember them daily in prayers before the Throne of God, asking the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, peace for families and a good year.
9. A Living Testimony: the Prayer of Joachim and Anna Today
Parish chronicles and home testimonies preserve many stories of the intercession of the Theotokos and of Saints Joachim and Anna for couples waiting for children. Oksana’s family from the Lviv region tells one of them. She and her husband prayed for a child for twelve years: examinations, treatments, disappointments, silent tears at holidays when everyone congratulated others. Once on Prechysta a priest advised them to pray to the righteous Joachim and Anna — “for they waited longer than you and know how waiting hurts” — and to begin reading the akathist to the Theotokos every day. “We stopped demanding a child from God as a debt and began to ask for her as a gift,” Oksana recalls. In the thirteenth year of waiting Oksana became pregnant, and a healthy girl was born, whom they named Maria. “Our Maria was born on Prechysta,” Oksana says. “I do not know whether it is a coincidence or an answer. But I know that all those twelve years I was not praying into emptiness, but to her who herself knows what it means to wait and to receive. Now every year on Prechysta Maria and I go to church to give thanks to the Theotokos.”
10. The Strongest Canonical Prayers of the Day
Troparion of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, Tone 4:
Your Nativity, O Virgin Theotokos, has proclaimed joy to the whole world, for from You has risen the Sun of Righteousness — Christ our God; destroying the curse, He gave the blessing, and abolishing death, He granted us eternal life.
Prayer to the Righteous Joachim and Anna for the Gift of Children (home prayer of the day)
O righteous Joachim and Anna, ancestors of God and well-pleasing servants of God! For long years you waited for the promised child and, having waited, brought Her to the temple with thanksgiving. Hear our prayer: intercede for the couples waiting for the gift of parenthood, ask for them from the Lord patience in waiting, faith without doubt and hope without despair; and for those whom He blesses with a child — health for mother and child and wisdom to raise the child in the faith. Pray also for all who wait for their good news, so that they too, like you, may wait for it with thanksgiving and glorify the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
11. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why is the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos celebrated on September 8?
The date of September 8 was established for the feast in Jerusalem in the fifth century, where near the house of Joachim and Anna a church was built in their honor; later the feast spread to Constantinople and the whole East, and in the West it was established by Pope Sergius I in the seventh century. Both branches of Christianity celebrate it on September 8 — by the new calendar precisely on this day.
Where is the story of Joachim and Anna known from, if it is not in the Gospels?
The story of the childhood of the Theotokos came to the Church through ancient tradition written down in the Protoevangelium of James (2nd century). This text is not part of the canon of Scripture, but it preserved for the Church the memory of the birth of Mary in the family of Joachim and Anna; the Church receives it as pious tradition, not as a dogmatic source.
Whose name day is September 8?
The chief name day of this day belongs to the Marys, for the feast is dedicated to the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, as well as to those who bear the names of the saints of this day. On the Nativity of the Theotokos special prayers are offered for all Marys, for mothers and children, and for couples waiting for children.
What is prayed for on the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos?
On the Nativity of the Theotokos people pray above all for the family, mothers and children, for couples waiting for the gift of children (after the example of Joachim and Anna), for all who pray and wait for an answer, and for the intercession of the Theotokos over home and country. The feast is considered especially favorable for the prayer of barren couples and mothers.
12. Sources
1. Nativity of Mary: history of the feast and veneration — Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org (Nativity of Mary).
2. Righteous Joachim, father of the Theotokos — Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org (Joachim).
3. Saint Anne, mother of the Theotokos — Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org (Saint Anne).
4. Protoevangelium of James: the source of the story of the childhood of the Theotokos — Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org (Protoevangelium of James).
5. 8 вересня: Різдво Пресвятої Богородиці — Ukrainian-language version of this article: pray.ee (8 вересня).