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In Great Britain and Ireland tradition, the quarter days are the four dates in each year on which servants were hired, school terms started, and rents were due. They fell on four religious festivals roughly three months apart and close to the two and two .
The significance of quarter days is now limited, although rents for properties in England are often still due on the old English quarter days.
The quarter days have been observed at least since the Middle Ages, and they ensured that debts and unresolved lawsuits were not allowed to linger on. Accounts had to be settled, and a reckoning had to be made and publicly recorded on the quarter days.Clines, David J. A. (1998). On the Way to the Postmodern: Old Testament Essays, 1967-1998 (Continuum International Publishing), p. 801.
Falling close to the Spring equinox, Lady Day was the first day of the civil year in England, Wales and the British dominions (but not Scotland) until 1752 (when it was harmonised with the Scottish practice of 1 January being New Year's Day). The British (personal) tax year still ends on "Old" Lady Day (5 April under the 'new style' (Gregorian) calendar, which in the 18th century corresponded to 25 March under the 'old style' Julian calendar: the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750 advanced the calendar by eleven days. 5 April is still the end of the British tax year for personal taxation.
The cross-quarter days are four holidays falling in between the quarter days: Candlemas (2 February), May Day (1 May), Lammas (1 August), and All Hallows (1 November).
At many schools, class terms would begin on the quarter days; for example, the autumn term would start on 29 September, and thus continues to be called the Michaelmas term, especially at more traditional universities.
These are now called cross-quarter days since they fall about halfway into each of the English quarters.
Since 2022, when a holiday for Imbolc was added to the list, all four traditional Celtic quarter days are now marked in the Republic of Ireland by an annual public holiday on a Monday close to the quarter days.
These were also the dates of the Quarter Days observed in northern England until the 18th century.
The dates for removals and for the employment of servants of Whitsunday and Martinmas were changed in 1886 to 28 May and 28 November respectively.Mairi Robinson (chief ed.): The Concise Scots Dictionary, Aberdeen University Press, 1985 The Term and Quarter Days (Scotland) Act 1990 redefined the "Scottish term days", in official use, as:
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