The badger, like the human, cleans its house in the springtime, pushing the mossy winter bedding out of its sett and replacing it with fresh leaves such as wild garlic and bluebells. These may help to keep fleas and other bugs at bay, and as they compost they can release some extra heat into the den. For humans the vernal ritual is primal enough that it is reflected in most cultures: churches are cleaned on Maundy Thursday, houses are cleaned before Passover, and in Iran – at the turning of the Persian New Year – carpets are cleaned and walls are repainted in a tradition that has been observed for millennia.
The origins of the tax year are similarly ancient. The pagan calendar began on the winter solstice, and while the Normans were, like us, on the first-of-January team, there were 600 years in which England followed the Julian calendar, which began with the Feast of the Annunciation (25 March). Because the Virgin Mary was involved in the Annunciation this date was known as “Lady Day”. Medieval debts, rents and contracts were typically due to be settled by certain religious festivals such as Lady Day or Michaelmas, because reading the calendar wasn’t something most people could do.
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