In the liturgical calendar of the Western Christian churches, Ember days are four separate sets of three days within the same week — specifically, the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday — roughly equidistant in the circuit of the year, that were formerly set aside for fasting and prayer. These days set apart for special prayer and fasting were considered especially suitable for the ordination of clergy. The Ember Days are known in Latin as the quattuor anni tempora (the "four seasons of the year"), or formerly as the jejunia quattuor temporum ("fasts of the four seasons").
Read more about Ember Days: Ember Weeks, Origins, Timing, Ordination of Clergy, Etymology
Famous quotes containing the words ember and/or days:
“Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow;Mvainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore—”
—Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849)
“There are days when the great are near us, when there is no frown on their brow, no condescension even; when they take us by the hand, and we share their thought.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)