These were historically used as the days when contracts and leases would begin and end, servants would be hired or dismissed, and rent, interest on loans, and ministers' stipends would become due.
These were mapped from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar and fixed in 1886 as 28 February, 28 May, 28 August and 28 November, and then later ratified by the Term and Quarter Days (Scotland) Act 1990.
The tradition was started in the 5th century during the Roman celebration of Februa, and carried over into Scotland, where mothers of children born the previous year would march with candles, hoping to be purified by the Virgin Mary.
[2] Lammas was celebrated on 1 August, the day the first fruits of the harvest were offered, the name coming from the Anglo-Saxon for 'loaf-mass' or 'bread-feast'.
In Scotland, 1886 saw the term dates for removals and the hiring of servants in towns changed to 28 February, 28 May, 28 August and 28 November.