The Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (as it was phrased in the 1549 Prayer Book of Edward VI) had been celebrated as the official start to the year in England since 1155, and would continue until the adoption of the Georgian (or 'Gregorian') Calendar in 1752. Interestingly, Scotland adopted 1 January as the official New Year's Day 152 years earlier than England, in 1600.
Among the upper-classes and royalty, merrymaking very much occurred for our Tudors on this day. Diarist Henry Manchyn recorded a jousting tournament on "Lady Day" in 1555, during Queen Mary I's reign, in this way (transcribed with modern spelling):
This day is important for historians and enthusiasts of the Tudor period to note, as it affects the way we read source material from the early months of each year during this time. Events between 1 January and 24 March were recorded as having occurred in the year prior to the one we now recognize - for example, Henry VIII's death on 28 January was recorded as 1546, not 1547; Elizabeth's death on 24 March was recorded as 1602, not 1603. This can cause some understandable confusion if we are not aware of the differing calendar structure.
I hope this blog post has been informative and interesting for you. I, for one, have really enjoyed diving into the complex history of "Lady Day" as the start of the sixteenth-century new year, and its religious significance to our Tudor figures!
- Wikipedia (Lady Day).
- 'New Year's' (2010), History.com.
- Darsie, Heather, 'About Lady Day, and Other Major Days (Guest Post)' (2018), TudorsDynasty.com.
- Ridgway, Claire, On This Day in Tudor History (2012), pp. 150-151 (e-book version).