Feast of the Annunciation

Feast of the Annunciation
The AnnunciationbyPaolo de Matteis.
Observed by	Christianity
Type	Christian
Date	25 March
Frequency	annual
Related to	Christmas Day,Lady Day,March equinox

TheFeast of the Annunciation(Greek:Ο Ευαγγελισμός της Θεοτόκου,romanized:O Evangelismós tis Theotókou,lit. 'the Annunciation of the Mother of God') commemorates the visit of thearchangelGabrielto theVirgin Mary,during which heinformed herthat she would be the mother ofJesus Christ,theSon of God.It is celebrated on 25 March; however, if 25 March falls either in Holy Week or in Easter Week, the feast is postponed to the Monday after theSecond Sunday of Easter.

Other names for the feast include theSolemnity of the Annunciation,Lady Day,Feast of the Incarnation(Festum incarnationis), andConceptio Christi(Christ's Conception).

The Feast of the Annunciation is observed almost universally throughout Christianity, especially within the Eastern Orthodox Church,Anglicanism,the Catholic Church, andLutheranism.It is a majorMarian feast,classified as asolemnityin the Catholic Church, aFestivalin Lutheranism, and aPrincipal Feastin theAnglican Communion.In the Eastern Orthodox Church, because it announces theincarnationof Christ, it is counted as one of the eightgreat feasts of the Lord.The importance attached to the Annunciation, especially in the Catholic Church, are theAngelusand theHail Maryprayers, the event's position as the firstJoyful Mysteryof theDominican Rosary,theNovena for the Feast of the Annunciation,and the numerous depictions of theAnnunciation in Christian art.

Biblical narrative

Main article:Annunciation

The "angelic salutation" of Gabriel to Mary is recorded in theGospel of Luke:"Hail, full of grace, the LORDis with thee "(1:28;LatinVulgate:ave gratia plena Dominus tecum), and Mary's response to God's will; "be it done to me according to thy word" (Luke 1:38;Vulgate:fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum).

The "angelic salutation" is the origin of theHail Maryprayer and the Angelus; the second part of the prayer comes from the salutation ofSaint Elizabethto Mary at theVisitation.

History

The earliest evidence for a Feast of the Annunciation or Incarnation is from the fifth century.The first certain mentions of the feast are in acanon,of theCouncil of Toledoin 656, where it was described as celebrated throughout the Church, and in another of theCouncil of Constantinople"in Trullo"in 692, which forbade the celebration of any festivals duringLent,excepting theLord's Day(Sunday) and theFeastof the Annunciation. ASynod of Worcester,England in 1240 forbade all servile work on the feast. As this feast celebrates theIncarnationof the Second Person of theTrinity,many Church Fathers, includingSt. Athanasius,St. Gregory of Nyssa,andSt. Augustine,have expounded on it.

From the earliest recorded history, the feast has been celebrated on 25 March, commemorating both the belief that the spring equinox was not only the day ofGod's act of Creationbut also the beginning of Christ's redemption of that same Creation. Christian antiquity held 25 March as the actual day of Jesus' death.The opinion that the Incarnation also took place on that date is found in thepseudo-CyprianicworkDe Pascha Computus,c. 240. It says that the coming of Jesus and his death must have coincided with the creation and fall ofAdam.Since the world was created in spring, Christ was also conceived and died shortly after the equinox of spring. Similar calculations are found in the early and laterMiddle Ages,and to them, the dates of the feast of the Annunciation and of Christmas owe their origin.Consequently the ancient martyrologies assign to 25 March the creation of Adam and the crucifixion of Jesus; also, the fall ofLucifer,the passing ofIsraelthrough theRed Seaand the immolation ofIsaac.The MedievalGolden Legendidentifies 25 March as not only the date of Creation and Annunciation, but also a large number of other significant events insalvation history,includingGood Fridayof Christ's crucifixion and death.

In the tradition of the Western Churches (Catholic Church,Anglican,Lutheran,andWestern Rite Orthodoxy), the feast is moved if necessary to prevent it from falling duringHoly WeekorEaster Weekor on a Sunday on theliturgical calendars.To avoid a Sunday before Holy Week, the next day (26 March) would be observed instead. In years such as 2016 and 2024 when 25 March fell withinHoly Weekor Easter Week, the Annunciation is moved to the Monday after theOctave of Easter,i.e., the Monday after the Second Sunday ofEaster.

In the tradition of the Eastern churches, (Eastern Orthodox,Oriental,andEastern Catholic) the feast of the Annunciation is never moved under any circumstance. They have special combined liturgies for those years when the Annunciation coincides with another feast. In these churches, even onGood FridayaDivine Liturgyis celebrated when it coincides with the Annunciation.

Greek Independence Day is celebrated on the feast of the Annunciation and 25 March is also a national holiday in the Lebanon.

The date is close to thevernal equinox,asChristmasis to thewinter solstice;because of this the Annunciation and Christmas were two of the four "quarter days"in medieval and early modern England, which marked the divisions of the fiscal year (the other two wereMidsummer Day,or the Nativity ofSt. John the Baptist,on 24 June, andMichaelmas,thefeast dayofSt. Michael,on 29 September).

When the calendar system ofAnno Dominiwas first introduced byDionysius Exiguusin AD 525, he assigned the beginning of thenew yearto 25 March, because according to Christian doctrine, the age ofgracebegan with theIncarnation of Christat the Annunciation, on which date Jesus Christ is believed to have been conceived in the Virgin Mary by theHoly Spirit.

PopeJohn Paul IIestablished 25 March as theInternational Day of the Unborn Child,for its commemoration of the conception of Jesus.