Everything seems to get a bit Christian round about here. The song of the eagle messenger bringing news of the end of Sauron to Minas Tirith is in very biblical language with its repetition of "ye" and "hath".

According to Shippey, not only was 25th March the date of the Annunciation but, according to the Anglo-Saxons it was also the date of the Crucifixion itself, and the last day of Creation. Tolkein certainly seems to have slipped for once and allowed his hated allegory to raise its head.

Until 1752 in England the New Year was held to begin on the 25th March. In that year the Gregorian calendar was belatedly adopted and 11 days were expunged from the calendar, Wednesday the 2nd September being followed by Thursday the 14th September. At the same time it was decreed that the New Year should in future start on the 1st January.

The bankers, however thought such a change would lead to confusion and so they kept observing the old date as the beginning of their year. This remains the case to this day. In Britain the Financial Tax Year begins on the 5th April, i.e. the 25th March plus 11 days.