Daily AncestorEmber days
Ember days are three fast days, a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, kept four times a year in the Western church calendar.
Ember days are quarterly periods of fasting and prayer: a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday in four weeks spread across the year. Ordinations of clergy often took place on Ember Saturdays.
Few family records date events by Ember days, but you may meet them in church documents, almanacs and clergy records.
As seen in a recordNote in a clergy biography
ordained deacon on the Ember Saturday in Lent
How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "Ember days." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/dates-calendar/ember-days. Last checked 2026-10-01.