What Is: Lady Day

Today, we think of January 1, New Year's Day, as being the official start of a new year.  However, Medieval people were on a different timetable, based more on the liturgical calendar and the seasons then the niceties of calendaring and dating.  From 1155-1751, i.e., during the entire reign of the Plantagenet dynasty and then some, Lady Day or the Feast of the Annunciation, was the official start of the year.

The Feast of the Annunciation, now celebrated on March 25 of each year, but in Medieval times celebrated on April 5, corresponds to the Biblical story of the Angel Gabriel announcing to the Virgin Mary that she will become the Mother of Jesus.  The Medieval calendar functioned on four quarter days, or days when contracts were signed, rents became due, and courts began a new term.  Because Lady Day happens roughly around the time of the Spring Equinox and about the time that a new harvest would be planted, it was a logical place to start the year.  If a farmer were about to take possession of a new farm, the rental agreement and the move would take place on Lady Day.