Quarter days

In British and Irish tradition, the quarter days are the four dates in each year on which servants were hired, school terms started, and rents were due.

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.

[1] Assuming you can remember when Christmas occurs, a useful mnemonic to place the remaining quarter days is to count the letters of the relevant months.

[citation needed] 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.