That =New Year’s Day= is the first day of the recurring year goes without saying. Previous to 1752, when the year commenced on the 25th of March, its four recognized quarters were Whitsuntide, Lammastide, Martinmastide, and Candlemastide; at the present time they are Lady Day, Midsummer, Michaelmas, and Christmas. Let us at once consider the meaning of these terms.
=Whitsuntide= is the season ushered in by =Whit Sunday=, a corruption of =White Sunday=, because, during the primitive ages of the Church, all newly-baptized persons were required to attend Mass in white garments on this day. As every one knows, Whit Sunday commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues. It is highly probable, therefore, that the true meaning of Whit, or White, Sunday remains to be sought in connection with the wisdom symbolized by these fiery tongues. After all, the original spelling of this festival-name may have been Witan Sunday, the Anglo-Saxon for Wisdom Sunday; just as the earliest English parliaments were styled WITANAGEMOTES, or “meetings of the wise men.” But to proceed. =Lammastide= literally signified the season of First Fruits; since on =Lammas Day=, a term compounded out of the Anglo-Saxon _hlaf_, a loaf, and _mœsse_, a feast, (Aug. 1st), it was formerly the custom to offer bread made of new wheat in the churches. =Martinmas Day= (Nov. 4th), latterly corrupted into =Martlemas Day=, denotes the Feast of St. Martin, Bishop of Tours in the fourth century. =Candlemas Day=, or the =Feast of the Purification= (Feb. 2nd), which commemorates the presentation of the Infant in the Temple in accordance with the Jewish Law instituted 1490 B.C., because the early Christians walked in procession to Mass with lighted candles in their hands on this day. This religious observance was introduced by Pope Gelasius in the fifth century, as a literal bearing out of the words spoken by Holy Simeon when he took the child Jesus in his arms: “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people: _A light to lighten the Gentiles_, and the glory of Thy people Israel” (_Luke_ ii. 29-32). It is still the practice in the Roman Catholic Church to make offerings of candles for the use of the altar on this day. =Lady Day= (Mar. 25th) is but another name for the =Feast of the Annunciation=, or the day upon which “the angel of the Lord appeared unto Mary,” and announced that she was to become the Mother of the Son of God. =Midsummer Day= (June 24th) expresses the midday of the year; while =Michaelmas Day= (Sept. 29th) is the Feast of St. Michael, the patron saint of the Roman Catholic Church. As the latter feast falls upon the first day of autumn, the hiring of labourers and domestics in the rural districts takes place at this time. =Christmas Day= is, to put it literally, the Feast Day of Christ, being the anniversary of the Nativity of the Blessed Redeemer.