Measuring Time In Ancient Days The Seasons of the Year The seasons of the year are listed below in Old English, Latin, and then modern English. Our ancestors divided the seasons in ways that are more logical than we do today, because in reality, spring does not wait for the vernal equinox, but begins long before, during Lent. And summer doesn’t begin in late June at the equinox — by then, we are already halfway through summer. The old way of marking the changing seasons was closer to what we actually experience. The Months (or Moons) Our ancestors began the new year in March (named for Mars, the god of war). They named the next five months April (Aphrodite), May (Maia), June (Juno), July (Julius Caesar), and August (Augustus Caesar) after gods or emperors. The next four months, they named for the number (in Latin) of that month: September (septem — the seventh month), October (octo — the eighth month), November (novem — the ninth month), and December (decem — the tenth month). January they named after the god Janus (who was depicted as look- ing both backwards and forwards). Finally, they named February after an ancient festival (februa) held on the 15th of that month. Lenten / Ver / Spring Haerfest / Autumus / Fall Candlemas falls on the 2nd of February. This is the Feast of the Purifi- August 1st was Lammas (‘Loaf Mass’), the Second Cross-Quarter Day, cation of Mary (she had completed the forty days required after child- which was the Feast of Saint Peter in Chains, commemorating St. Pe- birth to be considered ‘clean’ or ‘pure’ enough to enter the Temple), First Quarter Day ter’s deliverance from prison. This festival was within the Feast of First and the Presentation of the Lord, when Joseph and Mary, in accor- Fruits, when the people brought the bread baked from the season’s dance with Jewish law, ‘presented’ their firstborn child, Jesus, to God Lady Day First Cross first ripe grain (their Lammas bread) to church to be consecrated. The in His Father’s Temple in Jerusalem. The Church blesses candles on Saint Joseph ancients began autumn on this holiday. this feast day (the ‘Candle Mass’) in honor of the presenta- -Quarter Day Quarter Day Michaelmas (‘Michael Mass’) falls on September 29th, and it is the tion of Jesus, the Light, to the world. This is the Fourth - Third Quarter Day. It falls on or around the equinox when day and Cross-Quarter Day of the year, and it used to mark the be- night are of equal length. This Feast of the Archangels honors the an- ginning of spring. It is the most ancient of Marian feasts, Candlemas gels who defeated Lucifer, the great enemy of mankind. It was also the and is considered to be one of the most important feasts of Fourth Cross date for settling accounts and for universities and courts to begin their the liturgical year. Michaelmas terms. Christmas Lady’s Day, March 25th, is the Feast of the Annunciation. Besides Day Quarter Fourth being the First Quarter Day, it was traditionally designated the first Wynter / Hiemis / Winter day of the year (as far back as the Magi). It falls on or around the ver- All Saints Day, November 1st, was known by our ancestors as All Hal- nal equinox, when the days begin to lengthen (‘Lent’ derives from the lows Day or Hallowmas (‘Hallow Mass’). This is the Third Cross- word for ‘long’), and thus was the time to plant the fields. It also gen- Quarter Day. Halloween (‘Hallows Even[ing]’) falls on October 31st, erally falls near Easter and Passover, and was held as the historic date the Eve of All Saints Day, and brings autumn to an end, thus begin- on which Our Lord was crucified. St. John’s St. ning winter. Our pagan ancestors believed that the veil between the Second Quarter Day Quarter Second living and the dead grows very thin at this time of year when the trees Sumor / Aestas / Summer are losing their leaves. In the Middle Ages, poor folks would go door May Day (May 1st), on our modern calendar, is the feast of St. Joseph, Third Cross to door on Hallowmas to receive food in return for offering prayers for and our forefathers considered it as the first day of summer. The flow- All Hallows the dead on All Souls (November 2nd). The Celts began their year on ers are generally in full bloom on this First Cross-Quarter Day where- this date. upon the villages and shires would hold their spring festivals and -Quarter Day -Quarter Day dances, and take flowers to place before the statue of the Virgin Mary. Christmas (‘Christ Mass’), or Yule, falls on December 25th and is, of course, the solemn day when we celebrate the birth of the Lord. This St. John’s Day, June 24th, is also called midsummer, and it is the Sec- Lammas Second Cross is the Fourth Quarter Day of the year and it corresponds closely to the ond Quarter Day of the old way of counting. It falls on or around the Third Quarter Day winter solstice, the day when the noonday sun comes closest to the ho- summer solstice (the longest day of the year, when the sun seems to rizon. Marking midwinter on this day, our ancestors stand still in the Northern sky), and from this point on, Michaelmas slaughtered cattle to feed them through the rest of the the days will begin their decrease. The monks tell us our long winter, and the beer and wine were at last fer- ancestors once lit bonfires on this eve to scare away the mented, so this day became a time of great feasting. flying dragons. .