the tidings brought by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, of the incarnation of Christ.—Annunciation is also a festival kept by the church on the 25th of March, in commemoration of these tidings. This festival appears to be of very great antiquity. There is mention made of it in a sermon which goes under the name of Athanasius. Others carry it up to the time of Gregory Thaumaturgus, because there is a sermon likewise attributed to him upon the same subject. But the best critics reject both these writings as spurious. However, it is certain that this festival was observed before the time of the council of Trullo, in which there is a canon forbidding the celebration of all festivals in Lent, excepting the Lord's day and the feast of the annunciation; so that we may date its original from the 7th century. In the Romish church, on this feast, the pope performs the ceremony of marrying or clustering a certain number of maidens, who are presented to him in the church, clothed in white serge, and muffled up from head to foot: an officer stands by, with purses containing notes of 50 crowns for those who make choice of marriage, and notes of 100 for those who choose to veil.

ANNUNCIATION is likewise a title given by the Jews to a part of the ceremony of the passover.