Ember Days are devoted to cleansing and protection and occur just before an equinox or solstice. These are strong times, but they are also subject to malignant powers.
Magically protecting bonfires were burned in the past.
The name "ember days," according to official Church explanation, has nothing to do with bonfires and is a distortion of the Latin Quatuor Tempora, which means "four times," denoting the number of Ember Day periods in a year.
- At the start of each season, the Church mandated three days of abstinence, fasting, and spiritual cleansing.
- The Church, on the other hand, inherited the Pagan Roman tradition of Ember Days, in which it was traditional to pray to the presiding deities and perform spiritual rituals before beginning key agricultural work.
The Romans had just three periods of Ember Days since the whole month of February was dedicated to ceremonial cleansing before the start of their New Year,
• In June, as part of the harvest preparations
• In September, as part of the yearly wine harvest preparations
• In December, when the fields were being prepared for sowing, The Benandanti, who participated in shamanic combat during the Ember Days in order to safeguard the community's seeds, crops, and harvest, indicated that pagan Italian customs related with the Ember Days remained.
CALENDAR: February Feasts, Lupercalia.
Related to - Benandanti.
You may also want to read more about Paganism here.
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