We beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts; that we who have known the incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion be brought unto the glory of his resurrection; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
As genealogists are aware and I am fond of pointing out, March 25 – the conception of Our Lord – was the historic start of the new year in England, Wales, Ireland, and what would become the United States until the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752. (The year 1751 began on 25 March; the year 1752 began on 1 January.)
This coincides with the legal notion that life begins at conception and can also be seen in the “Rule against Perpetuities” which ran for not just 21 years, but 21 years and nine months.