Ember Days are three days of fasting, abstinence and prayer, a Wednesday, a Friday and a Saturday, that the Church kept four times a year at the turn of the seasons. They thank God for the gifts of creation, ask his blessing on the season ahead, and pray for the clergy, since priests were traditionally ordained on Ember Saturdays. They are no longer obligatory in most countries, but many Catholics are rediscovering them. The next Ember Days are December 16, 18 and 19, 2026, in the third week of Advent.
Ember Days dates for 2026–2027
| Season | Ember Wednesday | Ember Friday | Ember Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advent (winter) | December 16, 2026 | December 18, 2026 | December 19, 2026 |
| Lent (spring) | February 17, 2027 | February 19, 2027 | February 20, 2027 |
| Pentecost (summer) | May 19, 2027 | May 21, 2027 | May 22, 2027 |
| September (autumn) | September 22, 2027 | September 24, 2027 | September 25, 2027 |
The dates follow the 1962 Roman Missal: the week after the Third Sunday of Advent, after the First Sunday of Lent, after Pentecost, and after the third Sunday of September. Under the older rule, the autumn Ember Days followed the feast of the Holy Cross (September 14), which in 2027 gives September 15, 17 and 18.
A medieval Latin rhyme helped people remember them: Dant Crux, Lucia, Cineres, Charismata Dia, the Holy Cross, St. Lucy, the Ashes and the gifts of the Spirit, meaning the weeks after September 14, after St. Lucy’s day (December 13), after Ash Wednesday and after Pentecost.
What does “Ember Days” mean?
The name has nothing to do with embers or ashes. It is an English corruption of the Latin Quatuor Tempora, “the four times” (in German, Quatember). Each set of Ember Days marks the beginning of a season of the year.
The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia gives their purpose: besides the general good of all prayer and fasting, they were meant “to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy.”
History of the Ember Days
The Ember Days are one of the oldest customs of the Church of Rome. The early Roman Christians kept fasts in June, September and December, which replaced the old Roman festivals of sowing, harvest and vintage. The Liber Pontificalis credits Pope Callistus (217–222) with a law ordering the fast, and Pope Leo the Great (440–461) already considered it apostolic. In his sermons on the December fast he explained the four seasons of fasting:
We keep the spring fast in Lent, the summer fast at Whitsuntide, the autumn fast in the seventh month, and the winter fast in this which is the tenth month, knowing that there is nothing unconnected with the Divine commands, and that all the elements serve the Word of God to our instruction, so that from the very hinges on which the world turns, as if by four gospels we learn unceasingly what to preach and what to do.
Pope Gelasius (492–496) mentions all four seasons and allowed ordinations to the priesthood and diaconate on Ember Saturdays. From Rome the custom spread with the Roman liturgy: St. Augustine of Canterbury brought it to England, the Carolingians to France and Germany, and St. Charles Borromeo to Milan. Pope Gregory VII (1073–1085) fixed the four weeks for the whole Western Church. The Eastern Churches do not keep them.
The Ember Day Masses kept extra lessons from Scripture, especially on Ember Saturday, a trace of the ancient all-night vigils. The Ember Wednesday of Advent was the famous Missa aurea, the “Golden Mass,” whose introit is the Rorate caeli, “Drop down dew, ye heavens.”
Are Ember Days still observed?
After the Second Vatican Council, the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar (1969, nos. 45–47) left the Ember and Rogation Days to each bishops’ conference, which may decide when and how to keep them. In the United States there is no obligation to fast on Ember Days. They do remain in the 1962 Missal, and a growing number of Catholics, and some bishops, have encouraged keeping them voluntarily, especially as days of prayer for priests and for the purification of the Church.
How to keep the Ember Days
- Fast on the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday: one full meal and two smaller ones that together do not equal it, as on Ash Wednesday.
- Abstain from meat, at least on the Friday. Traditionally Ember Wednesday and Saturday were days of partial abstinence (meat at the main meal only).
- Pray for priests and vocations, especially on Ember Saturday, the traditional day of ordinations. See the prayer for priests and the prayer for vocations.
- Give thanks for creation and the season: the harvest in autumn, the dark of winter, new life in spring, the gifts of the Spirit at Pentecost.
- Give alms, especially to those who go hungry, so that our fast feeds someone else.
- Go to confession and, if you can, to Mass on one of the three days.
Leo the Great reminds us what the fast is for:
When the body therefore fasts from food, let the mind fast from vices, and pass judgment upon all earthly cares and desires according to the law of its King.
A prayer for the Ember Days
Written for this page:
Lord God, Creator of the seasons,
as this new season begins we thank you for the gifts of the earth
and for every grace you have given us in the season now past.
Accept our fasting and our prayer; teach us to use your gifts with moderation
and to share them with those in need.
Send holy priests to your Church, sanctify those you have already called,
and make us all faithful servants of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
When are the Ember Days in December 2026?
Wednesday, December 16, Friday, December 18, and Saturday, December 19, the week after Gaudete Sunday.
Do Catholics have to fast on Ember Days?
Not in the United States or most other countries today. The Ember Days are a voluntary devotion, but they are a fine way to prepare for each season and to pray for priests.
Why are they called Ember Days?
From the Latin Quatuor Tempora, “four times,” through Old English. The name has nothing to do with embers.
What are Rogation Days?
Days of prayer for the crops, kept on April 25 and the three days before Ascension Thursday, usually with processions. Like the Ember Days, they are now left to the bishops of each country.
More pages on fasting and the seasons
- St. Leo the Great
- Lent 2027: fasting rules
- Ash Wednesday
- Advent
- Pentecost
- Prayer for priests
- Liturgical calendar
- Gaudete Sunday
Texts and sources
- Francis Mershman, “Ember-days,” Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 5 (1909), Wikisource.
- Leo the Great, Sermon XIX, “On the Fast of the Tenth Month,” chapter 2, translated by C. L. Feltoe, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 12 (1895), public domain (Wikisource).
- General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar (1969), nos. 45–47.