Annunciation of the Lord

Annunciation of the Lord

March 25

Formerly called the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Roman Catholic Church, this day celebrates the appearance of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary announcing that she was to become the mother of Jesus. The date for this feast couldn't have been fixed until the date of Christmas was established, and obviously the two dates had to be nine months apart. In England, the Feast of the Annunciation is commonly called Lady Day. Greek Orthodox Christians refer to this day as the Annunciation of the Theotokos.
Annunciation usually falls during Lent, and is kept as a feast day in the midst of the Lenten fast. If it should happen to fall on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, it is transferred to a date following Easter. According to medieval superstition, it was a bad omen when Easter and the Annunciation fell on the same day.
In Sweden it was called Varfrudagen, "Our Lady's Day." Common pronunciation turned it into Vaffeldagen, or "Waffle Day." This is the source of heart-shaped waffle irons: the waffles commemorate the heart of the Virgin Mary.

CONTACTS:
Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute
University of Dayton
Dayton, OH 45469
937-229-4214; fax: 937-229-4258
www.udayton.edu
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia
242 Cleveland St.
Redfern, NSW 2016 Australia
61-2-9698-5066; fax: 61-2-9698-536
www.greekorthodox.org.au

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, pp. 3, 232
BkDays-1864, vol. I, p. 417
BkHolWrld-1986, Mar 25
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 86
EncyChristmas-2003, p. 33
EncyEaster-2002, p. 3
EncyRel-1987, v. 3, p. 441
FestSaintDays-1915, p. 56
FestWestEur-1958, pp. 6, 213
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 223
OxYear-1999, p. 133, 503
RelHolCal-2004, p. 92
SaintFestCh-1904, p. 146

Celebration day: Mar 25