Re: "The other half of the bead celebrates the Annunciation of the Virgin, the moment Mary discovers she’s pregnant with God’s son." Wrong. The Annunciation in Christian tradition concerns the angel Gabriel appearing to the Virgin Mary to tell her that she WOULD conceive, not that she was pregnant. Wish writers - when commenting on Christian beliefs - would get their facts straight. Another common faux pas is equating the Virgin Birth with the Immaculate Conception. But I digress....:)