However, the Sacred Congregation of Divine Worship came out with General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar in 1969 and gave local bishops the authority to adapt this custom to their region. Up until Vatican II Catholics were asked to mark these days with fasting and abstinence similar to that of Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (one primary meal and two lesser meals while abstaining from meat completely on Ember Friday and partially on Ember Wednesday and Saturday). Ordinations to the priesthood and diaconate were typically celebrated during Ember Days, and the faithful were urged to offer their fasting and prayers for those to be ordained. Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts therefore love truth and peace (Zechariah 8:19). This was the case in Rome and so when the early Christians began converting pagans, they decided to sanctify these agricultural rituals to turn their hearts to the one true God.įasting four times a year was also a tradition adopted from the Old Testament. Holy Cross, Lucy, Ash Wednesday, Pentecost, are when the quarter holidays follow.Īccording to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Ember Days were established “to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy.” Historically, ancient cultures were bound to the land and members of pagan religions would invoke their gods for protection over their crops. Sant Crux, Lucia, Cineres, Charismata Dia Ut sit in angaria quarta sequens feria. There is even a catchy Latin and English phrase to remember when Ember Days take place, based on the feast days that occur during these four times of the year. This year the Spring Ember Days fall on March 8, 10 and 11. These special days of fasting were established very early on in the Church and consist of a Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at the beginning of each season (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter). In Latin these days are referred to as Jejunia quatuor tempora (the fast of the four seasons), while in English they became known as “Ember Days” (from a corruption of the Latin word tempora). Folklore has it that the weather on each of the three days foretells the weather for three successive months.Īs with much folklore, this is grounded in some common sense since the beginning of the four seasons cue the changes in weather as well as a shift in how we keep harmony with the Earth and respect our stewardship of the Earth, our “garden of Eden.In the Western (Latin) Catholic Church there is an ancient liturgical tradition that revolves around the changing of the four seasons and consists of 3 days set apart for fasting and prayer.
In Latin, Ember Days are known as the quattuor anni tempora (the “four seasons of the year”). “Holy Cross, Lucy, Ash Wednesday, Pentecost, are when the quarter holidays follow.” “Sant Crux, Lucia, Cineres, Charismata Dia Ut sit in angaria quarta sequens feria.” Their dates can be remembered by this old mnemonic: Lucia, December 13 the second set comes with the First Sunday in Lent the third set comes after Whitsunday/Pentecost Sunday the four and last set comes after the Feast of the Holy Cross. The first of these four times comes in winter, after the Feast of St. These three days are set apart for fasting, abstinence, and prayer. Traditionally observed by some Christian denominations, each set of Ember Days is three days, kept on a successive Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Ember Days happen four times a year at the start of each season.
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