Lady Day

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Lady Day, which normally coincides with the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, falls on 25th March every year. It is one of the four English quarter days into which the year was once divided, and on which rents and other regular fees were traditionally paid (and in some cases still are). The other three are: Midsummer Day (24 June), Michaelmas (29 September) and Christmas (25 December).

The annunciation is the name given to the visit by the archangel Gabriel to Mary before the birth of her son, informing her that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, and instructing her to name this son Jesus.

Lady Day used once to be New Year's Day, until the calendar was changed from the Julian to the Gregorian in 1752. That year started on 25 March, as was normal, but ended on 31st December. 1753 started the next day, on 1st January. However, the tax year in Britain still starts on 6th April to this day - 6th April in 1753 fell on the day that would have been 25th March if the Julian calendar had still been in use.