When New Year’s Day was on 25 March25 March is often called Lady Day, also often called the Annunciation of the Lord, and it was the old New Year’s Day. This is the story …
The Annunciation
The word ‘annunciation’ is an archaic term for announcement. The word is usually understood in its biblical context to confer with the announcement of the incarnation by the angel Gabriel to Mary, when she was told she would conceive and provides birth to the Son of God. The story is told in Luke 1:26-38:“The angel Gabriel got here to Nazareth, and spoke to Mary, who was a virgin pledged to be married to a person named Joseph, who was a descendant of David. Mary was puzzled and afraid, however the angel reassured her and told her to not be afraid. The angel told Mary that ought to conceive and provides birth to a son, and he or she should call him Jesus. Mary didn’t understand how that’s could be possible by the angel explained that it will occur by the Holy Spirit, and the kid could be called the Son of God. Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let or not it’s with me based on your word’” (Luke 1:38 NRSV).
And then the angel left her. This is usually considered to fulfil the prophecy in Isaiah 7.10-15 that a virgin would conceive and bear a son. Lady Day
The day within the Church calendar when the Annunciation is traditionally remembered is 25 March. This day is often called the ‘Feast of the Annunciation’ or the ‘Day of the Annunciation of the Lord’ within the Christian liturgical calendar. It was commonly often called Lady Day, short for ‘Our Lady’s Day of the Annunciation’, where the girl in query was Mary. The day effectively celebrates when Mary acknowledged her role within the salvation story. This was the moment when God intervened in human history to fulfil the plan of salvation. There is usually considered to be nine months between conception and birth, so it is not any coincidence that Lady Day (25 March) and Christmas Day (25 December) are exactly nine months apart. In reality, it will not be known how soon after the annunciation that the conception took place, but traditionally it’s held to be the identical day. At the Council of Toledo in AD 656 and on the Council of Constantinople in AD 692, it was declared that Christians should fast during Lent, except on Sundays and on the Feast of the Annunciation (Lady Day). In mediaeval Europe Lady Day often began with a Mass called a Missa Aurea (Golden Mass) in honour of the Lady Mary, which in some places was followed by processions and mystery plays. Traditions
In central Europe, Lady Day was often called the ‘Feast of the Swallows’, since it was observed that it was on or about that day that swallows began to return from their winter migration. In Poland, Lady Day was seen as the primary day that storks returned. In Britain it was customary to eat seed cakes on Lady Day, due to the seed, which was planted in Mary, and was traditionally the day when spring seeds were sown.
New Year’s Day
From 1155, Lady Day was seen as the beginning of the Church yr, which began the clock towards Christmas. In a time when Church and state were intertwined Lady Day was the beginning of the ecclesiastical, legal and economic calendars. For many centuries Lady Day was effectively New Year’s Day.
Quarter Days
The yr was divided into 4 parts, and the beginning of every quarter was called a Quarter Day when rents were due. England, Wales and Ireland the Quarter Day are traditionally: Lady Day 25 March, Midsummer Day 24 June, Michaelmas Day 29 September and Christmas Day 25 December, although in Scotland the Quarter Days are at all times on the 28 of the previous months. It was on Quarter Days when rents were due, when legal contracts began, when families moved to latest tenancies, and when staff often began latest jobs. Even today, in lots of places within the UK quarter days are still when rents are due, and when farm leases and tenancies start.
Calendar Reform
Pope Gregory XIII sought to reform the Julian calendar to bring it back in step with the natural seasons. His reforms were pragmatic and based upon sound astronomical observations and the brand new calendar was often called the Gregorian calendar. In 1582, these were adopted by most Catholic countries in Europe. However, many Protestant countries were reluctant to follow suit, because they distrusted changes which were initiated by the Pope, especially so soon after the Reformation. Slowly, nonetheless other European countries followed suit. One innovation was that there could be a bissextile year every fourth yr, except when it’s a century yr, unless that century is divisible by 4, after which unless that century is divisible by 400. Another reform was to maneuver New Year’s Day from Lady Day to the 1 January.
Scotland
In 1599, the Scottish Parliament decided to drop the Julian calendar and adopted the reformed Gregorian Calendar. In 1600, Scotland declared that New Year’s Day was 1 January as an alternative of Lady Day. This brought Scotland into line with loads of Europe, but not with England. From 1600, New Year’s Day in Scotland was just after Christmas on 1 January. The Calvinist dislike of Christmas led to the event of Hogmanay as an alternative.
England and the American Colonies
Meanwhile England was still on the Julian calendar until 1752. In 1750 the English Parliament under King George II passed the Calendar (New Style) Act, which set the course to change from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. This was designed to bring England and her American Colonies in step with Scotland and most of continental Europe. As a part of the reforms, New Year’s Day was moved to 1 January and Lady Day became often called Old New Year’s Day. 1751 went from Lady Day to New Year’s Eve, and the calendar yr was just over nine months long. 1752 officially began on 1 January. Then later as a part of the change to the Gregorian calendar, 1752 was shortened by eleven days to re-align the calendar with the natural seasons. In 1752, September 2 was followed by September 14. No-one had a birthday between 3 and 13 September in 1752.
Old Lady Day and the Tax Year
Some dates within the calendar which had shifted by eleven days had an old and latest date. So, Lady Day was now on 25 March in the brand new style, but 5 April became often called Old Lady Day as if the eleven days had not been lost. The English taxation yr began on Lady Day, 25 March, which was the old New Year’s Day. In 1752, to make sure no lack of annual tax revenue, the Treasury decided that the taxation yr which began on 25 March 1752, should still be of the standard length of one year, so it will as an alternative end on 4 April 1753, and the next tax yr began on 5 April. The yr 1800 was not a bissextile year in the brand new Gregorian calendar, however it would have been within the old Julian system. Therefore in 1800, old Lady Day was 6 April, but then this date has remained unchanged within the UK since.
Waffle Day
In Sweden, and Norway and Denmark, Lady Day became related to waffles. In the Swedish language the word for Lady Day which is ‘Vårfrudagen’ appears like ‘Våffeldagen’, which translates as Waffle Day. So, it became customary to eat waffles on Lady Day and it’s colloquially often called Waffle Day in Scandinavia, and in Swedish communities all over the world.
Mothers’ Union
In 1897 the Mothers’ Union, a Christian network of moms’ groups across the worldwide Anglican Communion, adopted Lady Day as a special occasion of prayer and thanksgiving for the Mothers’ Union. Mothers’ Union groups often hold a special thanksgiving service on Lady Day within the church they’re connected to.
Prayer for Lady Day
On Lady Day the standard readings are the prophecy from Isaiah 7.10-15 and the story of the annunciation from Luke 1:26-38. The Anglican collect prayer for Lady Day is “We beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts; that, as we have now known the incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ by the message of an angel, so by his cross and keenness we could also be brought unto the glory of his resurrection; through the identical Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
