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Embertides

1910 New Catholic Dictionary

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(probably a corruption of Latin: quatuor tempora, English, quarter tense, four times; possibly Anglo-Saxon, yimbren, circuit)

A Wednesday, Friday; and Saturday, set apart by the Church during each of the seasons as days of special prayer, fast, and abstinence. The Embertides of June, September, and December were first introduced, and that of March about the 6th century. They were probably occasioned by the agricultural feasts of ancient Rome. Gelasius I permitted ordinations at all the Embertides. Gregory VII (1073-1085) definitely arranged the Embertides for the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Pentecost, feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (September 14,), and feast of Saint Lucy (December 13,).