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Lammas
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Lammas

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Article History

Lammas, the conventional name of the Quarter Day which falls on August 1. The Quarter Days—Candlemas (February 2), May Day (May 1), Lammas, and All Saints’ Day (November 1)—marked the four quarters of the calendar as observed in the British Isles and elsewhere in northern Europe. In the early English church it was kept as a harvest festival, when loaves of bread made from the new grain were consecrated. Its name was derived from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning “loaf-mass.” Gule is another name associated with August 1, which is also the date of the festival of St. Peter’s chains and the Celtic festival of Lugnasad.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.