March 25

Today, March 25, is the day that the defeat of evil, sin, and death began. Throughout much of Christian history, it was regarded as the most important date since the creation of the world. It was for this reason that J.R.R. Tolkien chose today as the day the One Ring was destroyed in the fires of Mount doom, heralding the defeat of evil.

Here is what the great Dom Guéranger says of this day:

This is a great day, not only to man, but even to God Himself; for it is the anniversary of the most solemn event that time has ever witnessed. On this day, the divine Word, by whom the Father created the world, was made flesh in the womb of a virgin, and dwelt among us. (The Liturgical Year, Vol. IV: Lent)

In short, today is the day that Jesus was conceived. 

The Golden Legend (published in the 13th Century) goes further. In his attempt to collect together all of the legends of the Saints, which range from the factual to the fanciful, author Jacobus de Voragine says this about today:

This blessed Annunciation happened the twenty-fifth day of the month of March, on which day happened also, as well tofore as after, these things that hereafter be named. On that same day Adam, the first man, was created and fell into original sin by inobedience, and was put out of paradise terrestrial. After, the angel showed the conception of our Lord to the glorious Virgin Mary. Also that same day of the month Cain slew Abel his brother. Also Melchisedech made offering to God of bread and wine in the presence of Abraham. Also on the same day Abraham offered Isaac his son. That same day Saint John Baptist was beheaded, and Saint Peter was that day delivered out of prison, and Saint James the more, that day beheaded of Herod. And our Lord Jesu Christ was on that day crucified, wherefore that is a day of great reverence.

Normally today is celebrated in the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the young Virgin Mary and greeted her as “full of grace”. The whole history of these last days of Salvation, this time of fulfillment, tumbles out of her reply to the angel.

However, yesterday was Palm Sunday, so we are in the midst of Holy Week. As Dom Guéranger explains,

It very frequently happens that March 25 falls between Palm Sunday and Low Sunday (i.e. the second Sunday of Easter). On these occasions, the feast of our Lady’s Annunciation, being out of keeping both with the dolorous mysteries of Holy Week and with the splendour of the Resurrection, is deferred to the Monday following Low Sunday. (The Liturgical Year, Vol. 6: Paschal Time)

The fact that this “very frequently happens” is no coincidence, for the ancients reckoned March 25 as the both the day of Christ’s Annunciation and the day, thirty-odd years later, of His Crucifixion at Passover – what we call Good Friday.¹ 

We calculate the date of Easter using the lunar calendar, so of course Good Friday itself drifts around a roughly two-month spread in early spring, but Good Friday and the Annunciation do occasionally coincide. The last time Good Friday fell on March 25 was 2016, but the next time won’t be until 2157.

AD 33 was also one of those dates.

So that’s a long way of saying that we will celebrate this solemn day on April 8 this year.

1. That’s also the real reason we get Christmas exactly nine months later.