Scottish term days

Scottish term and quarter days are the four divisions of the legal year, historically used as the days when contracts and leases would begin and end, servants would be hired or dismissed, and rent, interest on loans, and ministers' stipends would become due. The Term Days are Whitsunday and Martinmas, and together with Candlemas and Lammas they constitute the Quarter Days. Although they were fixed by the Term and Quarter Days (Scotland) Act 1990 as falling on the 28th day every three months, they originally occurred on holy days, corresponding roughly to the old Celtic quarter days, thus:

Candlemas originally fell on 2 February, the day of the feast of the Purification, or the Presentation of Christ. This was celebrated in pre-Reformation times by candlelit processions. The tradition was started in the 5th century during the Roman celebration of Februa, and carried over into Scotland, where mothers of children born the previous year would march with candles, hoping to be purified by the Virgin Mary

Whitsun was originally the feast of Pentecost, around which a great many christenings would occur, so it became associated with the colour white. Because the date of Pentecost moves each year, the legal Term Day of Whitsun was fixed in Scotland as 26 May in the Julian Calendar, which became 15 May under the Gregorian Calendar, adopted in Scotland in 1599.

Lammas was celebrated on 1 August, the day the first fruits of the harvest were offered, the name coming from the Anglo-Saxon for 'loaf-mass' or 'bread-feast'.

Martinmas, on 11 November, was originally the feast of Saint Martin of Tours, a 4th-century bishop and hermit.

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