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Definition:
In Christianity, the "Annunciation" refers to the announcement of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to Jesus, as recounted in Luke 1:26-38:
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
This Annunciation is celebrated every year in Christian churches as the Feast of the Annunciation on March 25th, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Jesus which occurs on December 25th - Christmas Day. In many areas, this day was at one time celebrated as New Year's Day, for example in England and some American colonies.
The precise of day of the Feast of Annunciation can shift because it's not supposed to fall on either a Sunday or during Holy Week of Easter. To avoid a Sunday, the Feast of the Annunciation is held on the previous Saturday, March 24. To avoid falling during Holy Week, the Feast of Annunciation is held on the Monday after the Sunday Easter Sunday - also known as Low Sunday. On the rare cases where this would be the same day as the Feast of St. Joseph, the Feast of Annunciation is moved to the next day, Tuesday.
Because of it's proximity to the spring equinox, the Feats of the Annunciation is effectively a Christian celebration of one of the four "Quarter Days" celebrated in ancient pagan and nature religions. In this manner, Christianity was able to incorporate various pagan elements of Europe into its own liturgical calendar, easing the path for Christianizing Europe.
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