Editing Lady Day (section)

==Religious significance==
The commemorated event is known in the [[Book of Common Prayer (1549)|1549 prayer book]] of [[Edward VI]] and the [[Book of Common Prayer (1662)|1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'']] as "The Annunciation of the (Blessed) Virgin Mary" but more accurately (as in the modern Calendar of the [[Church of England]]) termed "The Annunciation of our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary". It is the first of the four traditional English [[quarter days]]. The "(Our) Lady" is the [[Virgin Mary]]. The term derives from [[Middle English]], when some nouns lost their [[genitive]] inflections. "Lady" would later gain an -s genitive ending, and therefore the name means "(Our) Lady's day". The day commemorates the tradition of archangel [[Gabriel]]'s announcement to Mary that she would give birth to the [[Christ]].

It is celebrated on 25 March each year. In the [[Catholic Church]]'s [[Latin liturgical rites]], when 25 March falls during [[Holy Week]] or [[Easter week]], it is transferred forward to the first suitable day during [[Eastertide]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=BBC - Religions - Christianity: The Feast of the Annunciation|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/annunciation.shtml|access-date=2020-07-03|website=www.bbc.co.uk|language=en-GB}}</ref> In [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] and [[Eastern Catholicism]], it is never transferred, even if it falls on Pascha ([[Easter]]). The concurrence of these two feasts is called [[kyriopascha]].

The Feast of the Annunciation is observed almost universally throughout Christianity, especially within [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodoxy]], [[Anglicanism]], [[Catholicism]], and [[Lutheranism]].<ref name="Melton2011">{{cite book|last=Melton|first=J. Gordon|title=Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations |url=https://archive.org/details/religiouscelebra00melt|url-access=limited|date=13 September 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|language=English |isbn=9781598842067|page=[https://archive.org/details/religiouscelebra00melt/page/n64 39]}}</ref> It is a major [[Veneration of Mary|Marian]] feast, classified as a [[solemnity]] in the [[Catholic Church]], a [[Liturgical calendar (Lutheran)#Festivals|Festival]] in the Lutheran Churches, and a [[Principal Feast]] in the [[Anglican Communion]]. In [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christianity]], because it announces the [[Incarnation (Christianity)|incarnation]] of Christ, it is counted as one of the 8 great feasts of the Lord, and not among the four great [[Marian feast days|Marian feasts]], although some prominent aspects of its liturgical observance are Marian.<ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/FAMILY/MARCH25.TXT Feast of the Annunciation at EWTN]</ref><ref>[[Annunciation#Eastern Christianity]]</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=per WP:CIRCULAR|date=February 2018}} Two examples in liturgical Christianity of the importance attached to the Annunciation are the [[Angelus]] prayer and, especially in Roman Catholicism, the event's position as the first [[Rosary#Mysteries of the Rosary|Joyful Mystery]] of the [[Dominican Rosary]].<ref name="cna">n.d. [http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=188 "Solemity of the Annunciation of the Lord,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326064517/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=188 |date=26 March 2013 }} ''Catholic News Agency''. Retrieved 26 May 2019.</ref>