All Wednesdays and Fridays of the year used to be fasting days. Many people still keep this custom. Near the beginning of each of the four seasons, a Sunday was set aside for Thanksgiving to God. People gave thanks for whatever was being harvested from the land at that time of year. The Saturday night vigil before a “thanksgiving Sunday” was well attended, and people fasted and prayed in a special way on the Wednesday and Friday before the Sunday. These Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays came to be called “Ember Days.” (The word “ember” means “season.”)

The Wednesday, Friday and Saturday before the Fourth Sunday of Advent were the winter Ember Days. In lands around the Mediterranean Sea, olives are harvested at this time of year. So the winter Ember Days were days of thanksgiving for the olive harvest.

Olive oil was just about the only type of oil that people had. People illuminated their homes with oil lamps. They used olive oil to soothe cuts and bruises. Athletes used it to loosen up their muscles, and wealthy people mixed it with perfume to make themselves smell better. And, of course, people used olive oil in cooking, just as we do today. So these Ember Days at the beginning of winter were important in countries where olives grew.

It is interesting that the Jewish festival of Hanukkah which comes at this time of year, also includes rejoicing in the olive harvest. Each part of the world has its own seasons and its own harvest. In 1969, the bishops of each country were asked to move the Ember Days to times when these days would make the most sense in their part of the world. The bishops of the United States have not yet set special dates for the Ember Days.

Christmas, too, is a harvest festival. That is why we bake and serve so many good, rich foods. Perhaps keeping the Twelve Days of Christmas is like saying a long grace after the meals that have fed us in the past year, and like saying a long grace before the meals that will feed us in the year to come. Extra prayer, fasting and giving of charity during Advent is a way to give thanks for - and to share - our daily bread.

From Companion to the Calendar by Mary Ellen Hynes.