The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-23
LADY DAY OF MARCH.
IMPORTANT IN BOTH SECULAR AND
RELIGIOUS CALENDARS.

Why the 25th of March Is yenerated In
England-What Happens III 1t Falls on
Easter-secuiarly Considered 1t Is the
beginning of One OF the Years Quarters.
The 25th of MARCH, is an important
date both i'll the secular and religious
calendars 1t is the first quarter day i'll
the year and rs such comes home to
most Of us who have before our eyes the
fear of payment of rent or the rarer
pleasure of receiving it. The pay days
i'll England have been arbitrarily fixed
on Lady day, Midsummer day, Michael
mas day and Christmas day. Why? No
body has been able to explain, unless it
be that arriving, as they do, near the
end OF each quarter, such important
days are better as reminders of our duty
to our landlord than any ordinary 3Oth
or 31st of the month would be likely to
be.
But it is, of course, as one of the
great festivals dedicated to the Virgin
Gas its name, Lady day, or the old term,
Our Lady's day, implies) that it has
most Importance, being the anniversary
of the day when the angel Gabriel an
nounced to the Virgin the mystery of
the incarnation. Four other dates in
the calendar share the honor of this I'll
tle-namely, Feb. 2, or the Publication;
July 2, or the Visitation, to commem-
crate the visit paid by the Virgin Mary
to her cousin Elizabeth INSTITUTED by
Pope Urban VI i'll 1889; Sept. s, or
the Nativity, and Dec 8, or the Con-
ception
But the 25th of March, or the An
nunciation, is most regarded, as it is
the anniversary, according to st. Au-
gustine, of the great event to which it
owes its origin, and the institution of
this festival dates from very early times,
since st. Athanasius makes mention of
it III one Of his sermons. An order of
the Patriarch Nicephorus having given
permission to break the fast of Lent if
the Annunciation happened to fall on
the Thursday or Friday of Holy week,
a council convened at Toledo in Csc to
preserve the complete observance of
Lent and ordered the transference Of the
holiday to the week preceding Christ
mas Some of the eastern churches still
follow this decree, but the Syrians have
fixed it on Dec. 1 and the Armenians
on the 9th of January, while in the
Latin church it has resumed its old
place in the ecclesiastical calendar. In
the western church, if it should fall in
the Easter fortnight, its celebration is
postponed until the second Monday fol
lowing the festival
Lady day of March has always been
very highly observed in England The
synod of Worcester, 1910 A D., by one
of its canons forbade all servile work
upon it, and this was afterward con-
firmed by various provincial and dioc-
esan councils in all respects except ag-
ricultural labor
In Rome, in the early part of the GEN.
fury, the day used to be celebrated with
great pomp and splendor. We read that
the windows were hung with crimson
and yellow silk draperies and occupied
by females i'll most gorgeous attire,
while the churches were patrolled by
the pope's horse guards in their splen-
did full dress uniforms, all of whom
wore i'll their caps a sprig of myrtle Us
Il sign of rejoicing. Before the service
procession appeared, preceded by anoth-
er detachment of the guards mounted
on black chargers, who rode forward to
clear the way to the sound of trumpet
and the beating of drums This martial
array was followed by bareheaded
priest on white mule, bearing the host
III gold cup, at the sight of which ev-
erybody Frustrated himself The pope
used formerly to ride on the white mule
himself, and all the cardinals used to
follow him in their magnificent robes
of state, but as the eminentissimi were
for the most part not very eminent
horsemen they were generally fastened
on lest they should tumble off.
1t is not to be supposed that in this
country the day would be without its
tradition or superstition, so we find that
it was considered public misfortune
if Lady day fell on Easter day, and the
medieval couplet runs:
When our Lady falls in our Lords lap,
Then England beware of great mishap
No less than IS saints figure in the
calendar on this day Of these two
were ladies-St Dula and st. Ida; one
Irishman, st. Cammin, abbot of Inis-
keltra, and two Englislmen, st. ALI
wolf, bishop of Sherborne, and St. Will
liam, the child martyr, of Norwich.
In The Calendar Of the Anglican
Church we find statement showing
how great in ancient times was the ven
Grafton for the Virgin in this country.
Published in 1851, the book states that
no fewer than 2, 1870 churches were
named i'll her honor alone, besides 1O2
where she was associated with some
other saint. On the authority of the
same work, pictorially the Virgin is