Why the Annunciation shaped the Western calendar and centuries of artistic masterworks

Art · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Annunciation, the archangel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary of her divine conception, is more than a biblical narrative. It served as the foundation for the Western New Year for over a millennium and remains one of the most frequently depicted subjects in the history of Christian art and music.

The Annunciation marks the moment the archangel Gabriel tells Mary she will conceive Jesus, an event described in the Gospel of Luke. While Roman Catholic tradition places this encounter in Mary’s home in Nazareth, Eastern Orthodox belief suggests it occurred at a town well. This theological event is so central that it initiated the Anno Domini calendar system, with Dionysius Exiguus assigning 25 March as the start of the new year in AD 525 because it marked the beginning of the Incarnation.

For centuries, this date—Lady Day in England—dictated the civil calendar. France only shifted its New Year to 1 January in 1564 via the Edict of Roussillon, while England maintained the 25 March start until 1752. The feast remains a 'Great Feast' in Orthodox traditions, where its liturgical complexity is so high that it can even alter the celebration of Good Friday or Easter Sunday if the dates coincide.

Beyond its calendar influence, the Annunciation is a cornerstone of visual art. The oldest known fresco dates to the 4th century in the Priscilla catacomb. During the Renaissance, masters like Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli explored the scene, often using it to symbolize Mary’s purity. Some works, like the 1490–95 panel by Jean Hey, reveal hidden histories; X-rays show that figures were sometimes altered or scraped out, transforming these religious icons into complex objects of historical and technical study.

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