The term ‘ladies’ is used in many ways…sports divisions, washroom identification and clothing.
‘Lady’ can be offensive when using it to address one women.
The term lady is not used regularly these days eg lady doctor, saleslady. When we see or hear it now, it conjures up different images in our minds. What image of ‘lady’ is in your mind right now?
One image may be of a female member of a royal family. For many the image is that of a proper, impeccably dressed woman who is well mannered with high moral standards. On questioning young people about what the term lady meant to them the answers were interesting…pinkie finger in the air while sipping tea, mature, not exuberant, polite.
Lady Day, which is usually celebrated each year on March 25, was named for someone who does not fit into the present day perceptions of being a lady.
She was a teenager, she was not from royal stock, she wore simple clothes, was humble and modest.
Lady Day, or to give it its correct title, ‘The Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary’, is the celebration of the Angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary in her home in the hill village of Nazareth. God sent Gabriel to tell her that she had been chosen to be the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26-38). In the early Christian Church, December 25th was chosen as the date for the birth of Jesus and thus, March 25th became the date to recognize the Annunciation, the conception of Jesus.
Pictures and statues of the Mother and Holy Child have been a part of Christian art from early times.
When Mary Sumner started the Mothers’ Union, she naturally chose this age-old symbol of motherhood for her society. In 1897 the Mothers’ Union formally adopted the Feast of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary as its yearly day of prayer, intercession and thanksgiving. A service booklet for Lady Day is normally published by Mary Sumner House annually. Some dioceses throughout Canada have a Lady Day annual service and many branches celebrate communion at their branch services during the month of March. Any collection received during these services have been earmarked for donation to the Overseas Development Fund.
