25 March – Lady Day and the New Year

In Tudor England, the New Year began 25th March, a day known as Lady Day or the Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin. It was a feast day commemorating the day that the Virgin Mary was first told by the Angel Gabriel that she was carrying Jesus. It is, of course, nine months before Christmas Day, the day in which Christ was born.

Lady Day was the first day of the calendar year in England until 1752, when the first day of the year was changed to 1 January and the Gregorian Calendar replaced the Julian Calendar. Although the calendar year officially started on 25 March in Tudor times, New Year’s gifts were still given on 1 January, which came from the Roman tradition of New Year.

Click here to read more on our March Feast Days page.