Ember day

Meanings

1. Any of the three days within the same week, four separate sets of which occur roughly equidistant in the circuit of the year, that are set aside for fasting and prayer. In Western Christianity they are usually the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following the first Sunday in Lent, Whitsunday, Holy Cross Day (14 September), and Saint Lucy's Day (13 December).

Etymology

From Middle English ember-dai, imber-dai, imbre-dai (“Ember day”), from Old English ymbrendæg. Ymbren is possibly a corrupted form of Old English ymbryne (“period, revolution of time”), from ymb (“around, about”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (“around, about”)) + ryne (“path along which motion occurs; course”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(H)r ̊-nw- (“to flow, move, run”)). Alternatively, Ember could be a corruption of Latin quatuor tempora (“four periods”), from which German Quatember (“Embertide”) is derived.