Since the Elizabethan Prayer Book of 1559, the Nativity or Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been included as a "black letter day" or minor commemoration on some Anglican calendars. Although we have no real historical information about her birth, we know that it occurred and that she played an important and holy role in the story of redemption. So it is certainly appropriate to think of the Blessed Virgin in a special way today and to give thanks for her birth, life, and faith. In the words of Luke 1:28:
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. (KJV)
