Ember Days were traditional periods of fast and abstinence during each of the four seasons of the calendar year. Observance of the Ember Days was intended to be a means to sanctify the seasons, and, by extension, to sanctify created time. The Ember Days were observed on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following St. Lucia Day (December 13; winter), Ash Wednesday (moveable holy day; spring), Pentecost (moveable holy day; summer), and the Triumph of the Cross (September 14; autumn).
Ember Days were removed from the Church calendar after the reform of the liturgical calendar following Vatican II. The calendar was reformed in an effort to focus our attention more sharply on the life of Christ, his Mother, and his followers, the saints. Ordinary Time, the period of the liturgical year in between penitential and festal seasons (e.g., Advent, Lent, Christmas, and Easter), comes from the word
ordinal (i.e., counted, as we count the Sundays in this liturgical period) and is focused on the public ministry of Christ.
