The Annunciation

When: Every year on March 25

On March 25, nine months before Christmas, Christians remember the day the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would have a son named Jesus. Mary said yes: “Let it be with me according to your word.”

Where it came from

The story is told in Luke 1:26–38. The angel Gabriel visits a young woman named Mary in Nazareth and tells her not to be afraid. She will have a son who will be called the Son of the Most High. Mary asks a question, and then she says yes.

The feast was kept in the East by the 500s and in Rome by the 600s. It falls on March 25 because Christians counted nine months before Christmas. In England it was known as Lady Day, and until 1752 it was the first day of the legal year.

How it is kept around the world

• Catholic and Orthodox churches. Services with readings of Luke 1 and hymns to Mary. In Orthodox churches, the Annunciation is a joyful day even during Great Lent, when fish is allowed.
• Greece. March 25 is both the Annunciation and Greek Independence Day, so it has church services in the morning and parades in the afternoon.
• Lebanon. The Annunciation is a national holiday shared by Christians and Muslims, because Muslims also honour Mary, called Maryam in the Quran.
• Nazareth. Pilgrims visit the Basilica of the Annunciation, built over the place that tradition says was Mary's home.
• Art and prayer. The Angelus, a short prayer rung by church bells at morning, noon and evening, remembers this story.

Christians differ

Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican Christians keep the Annunciation and honour Mary in a special way. Protestants generally honour Mary as a model of faith and obedience, and read the story of Luke 1, but may not keep a feast day for her. Christians also differ on how they understand Mary's role in the story. They all agree on her courage in saying yes.

Do it together

Ages 0 to 2

• Look at a picture of a bright angel and say “hello, angel”.
• Whisper a yes together: “Yes, I will help.”

Ages 3 to 5

• Draw Mary and the angel and talk about what it is like to be asked to do something big.
• Say yes to one small helping job today.

Ages 6 to 8

• Read Luke 1:26–38 and act it out with two voices.
• Learn the words of the Angelus or another short prayer.

Ages 9 to 12

• Count nine months from March 25. What day do you reach? Make a calendar.
• Look at three paintings of the Annunciation. What is the same and what is different?

Ages 13 to 17

• Read Mary's song in Luke 1:46–55. What does she say about God and about people who are poor?
• Think of a time you said yes to something hard. What helped you?

A short prayer

God, you asked Mary to say yes, and she did. Give us courage to say yes to what is good, even when it is hard. Amen.

Mark as done

Where this comes from

• Gospel of Luke 1:26 to 56
• Paul F. Bradshaw and Maxwell E. Johnson, The Origins of Feasts, Fasts and Seasons in Early Christianity (Liturgical Press, 2011)
• F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, eds., The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2005), entries “Annunciation” and “Lady Day”
• Lebanese government and press sources on the national Annunciation holiday

Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.