季度日是标志着每年四个季度开始的四天。它们传统上被视为结算某些债务（如租金）的日子。从中世纪开始，这些日子标志着一年的四个部分。“请注意，英格兰和苏格兰的季度日不同。两者都标志着季节的开始，但使用不同的历法。英格兰的季度日大致与天文季节对齐，而苏格兰的季度日则（大致）根据凯尔特历法标志季节的开始。这些苏格兰的日子与英格兰历法中的交叉季度日（即季中日）更接近，但并不完全一致。”
季度日也是雇佣或支付仆人薪水的日子。大型庄园里的佃户在这些日子支付租金，我认为，伦敦等大城市的许多人也是如此。我确实知道，租赁付款和商业租金是在季度结算日支付的。其他债务也在这些日子偿还，法律事务也在这几天处理。欠贫困人的钱款会在这些日子送达。税款也在这几天收取。学校的学期通常与季度日对齐。例如，剑桥大学的米迦勒学期从十月到十二月，四旬斋学期从一月到三月，复活节学期从四月到六月。
Quarter days were also the days that servants were hired or were paid. Cottagers on large estates paid their rents on these days, and I assume, so did many living in the larger cities, such as London. I do know that leasehold payments and businesses paid rents on the Quarter Days. Other debts were also paid on these days, and legal matters were taken up. Money owed to the poor was delivered. Taxes were collected.
School terms often aligned with the Quarter Days. For example, Michaelmas term at Cambridge runs from October through December, the Lent term from January to March, and the Easter term from April to June.
在英格兰，季度日是日历年中四个特定的日期，传统上在法律、财务和农业事务上具有重要意义。这些日子历史上被用作结算租金、雇佣仆人和进行各种其他业务交易的时间。四个季度日是：
- 圣母领报节（3月25日）：也称为圣母领报节，圣母领报节标志着年度的第一个季度日。它纪念天使加百列向圣母玛利亚宣告她将怀孕并成为耶稣的母亲。这一天传统上也是英国法律年的开始。
在西方礼仪年中，圣母领报节（Lady Day）是一些讲英语国家对“报喜节”（Feast of the Annunciation）的传统名称，庆祝日为3月25日，以纪念天使加百列拜访圣母玛利亚，并告知她将成为耶稣之母的事件。在1549年爱德华六世的祈祷书和1662年《公祷书》中，这个事件被称为“（圣）童贞玛利亚领报日”（The Annunciation of the (Blessed) Virgin Mary）。这是英国传统四个季度日中的第一个。
“In the Western liturgical year, Lady Day is the traditional name in some English-speaking countries of the Feast of the Annunciation, which is celebrated on 25 March, and commemorates the visit of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary, during which he informed her that she would be the mother of Jesus. In both the 1549 Prayer Book of Edward VI and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, this event is known as “The Annunciation of the (Blessed) Virgin Mary.” It is the first of the four traditional English quarter days.”
在英格兰，有一个长期传统，即标准商业租约的租金按季度预付。这种做法与许多财产法一样，起源于中世纪。当时的国王会在基督教圣日派税收官员巡游全国收税，因此商业租金也遵循了这一传统。从1155年到1752年，圣母领报节（Lady Day）是元旦，即新年的开始。只有在英国采用公历（格里高利历）后，元旦才改为1月1日。这应与礼仪年和历史年区分开来，这两个年份仍以1月1日为新年。
圣母领报节传统上是人们签订为期一年的合同的日子，通常是地主与佃农之间的合同。农民进入新农场和新田地的时间往往在圣母领报节。因此，改变农场的农民家庭会在圣母领报节从旧农场搬到新农场。1752年，英格兰与西欧一样，从儒略历（Julian calendar）改为公历。儒略历比公历晚11天，因此旧历中的3月25日变为4月5日（“旧圣母领报节”），并担任合同年初的角色。
In England there is a long tradition that a standard commercial lease has rents paid quarterly in advance. The practice stems, like much property law, from medieval times. The Kings in those days would have their tax collectors tour around the country collecting taxes on the Christian holy days, so commercial rents took on the same tradition.
From 1155 to 1752, Lady Day was New Year’s Day, meaning the beginning of the new year. The change to 1 January only occurred with the adoption of the Gregorian calendar by Great Britain.
This should be distinguished from the liturgical and historical year, which is still 1 January.
Lady Day was traditionally the day upon which people executed year-long contracts, generally, between landowners and tenant farmers. Farmers’ time of “entry” into new farms and onto new fields often occurred on Lady Day. “As a result, farming families who were changing farms would travel from the old farm to the new one on Lady Day. In 1752, England followed western Europe in switching to the Gregorian calendar from the Julian calendar. The Julian lagged 11 days behind the Gregorian, and hence 25 March in the Old Style calendar became 5 April (“Old Lady Day”), which assumed the role of contractual year-beginning.”
《圣经》中有关领报的故事记载在《路加福音》1:26-38：
在第六个月，神差遣天使加百列到加利利的一座城拿撒勒去，见一个童贞女，这女子已经许配给大卫家的一位名叫约瑟的人，童贞女的名字叫马利亚。
天使进去，对她说：“蒙大恩的女子，我问你安，主和你同在了！”
马利亚因这话就很惊慌，又反复思想这样问安是什么意思。
天使对她说：“马利亚，不要怕！你在神面前已经蒙恩了。你将怀孕生子，要给他起名叫耶稣。他要为大，称为至高者的儿子，主神要把他祖大卫的位给他。他要作雅各家的王，直到永远；他的国也没有穷尽。”
马利亚对天使说：“我没有出嫁，怎么有这事呢？”
天使回答说：“圣灵要临到你身上，至高者的能力要荫庇你，因此所要生的圣者必称为神的儿子。况且，你的亲戚以利沙伯在年老的时候也怀了男胎，就是那素来称为不生育的，现在有孕六个月了。因为出于神的话，没有一句不带能力的。”
马利亚说：“我是主的使女，情愿照你的话成就在我身上。”天使就离开她去了。
The Biblical story of the Annunciation is found in Gospel of Luke 1: 26-38:
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
- 仲夏节（6月24日）：作为施洗者圣约翰节，仲夏节是第二个季度日。它大约在夏至时分，与各种习俗和节日有关，包括篝火和宴会。
- 米迦勒节（9月29日）：圣米迦勒和所有天使的节日，米迦勒节是第三个季度日。它标志着收获季节的结束，与农业集市和来年雇佣工人有关。传统上，米迦勒节也是结算债务和支付租金的时间。
- 圣诞节（12月25日）：庆祝耶稣基督的诞生，圣诞节是第四个季度日。尽管主要是一个宗教节日，但它也作为结算财务和雇佣或续签仆人合同的重要日期。
In southern England, Wales and Ireland are what we, generally read in Regency romances. They are:
Lady Day – March 25, Feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, the traditional day for hiring farm workers for the coming year
Midsummer – June 24, Feast of St John the Baptist, the midpoint of the growing season
Michaelmas – September 29, Feast of St. Michael the Archangel, start of the harvest
Christmas – December 25, Feast of the Birth of Jesus, high point of the year, when farm workers were paid for the year’s labor
与此同时，在英格兰北部和苏格兰，四个季度结算日（在苏格兰也称为旧苏格兰定期日）是：
- 圣烛节（Candlemas）——2月2日，圣母玛利亚洁净节。
- 圣灵降临节（Whitsunday）——5月15日，圣灵降临节。
- 收获节（Lammas）——8月1日，圣彼得脱狱节。
- 圣马丁节（Martinmas）——11月11日，圣马丁主教节。
Meanwhile, in the northern part of England and in Scotland, the four Quarter Days (also called Old Scottish Term Days in Scotland) are:
Candlemas – February 2, Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary
Whitsunday – May 15, Feast of the Holy Spirit
Lammas – August 1, Feast of St Peter’s Deliverance from Prison
Martinmas – November 11, Feast of St Martin the Bishop
历史意义
法律和财务交易：
- 租金支付：房东和租户通常利用季度日来结算租金支付。这种做法有助于确保房东的定期和可预测收入。
- 合同：尤其是农业工人和家庭仆人的雇佣合同，通常围绕季度日进行。这使雇主能够根据季节需求调整其劳动力。
- 法律事务：法律和行政活动，如法庭开庭和法律年的开始，传统上与季度日相关联。
文化和农业活动：
- 收获庆典：特别是在米迦勒节附近，季度日与收获季节的结束有关。社区会举行集市和宴会，庆祝成功收获农作物。
- 宗教仪式：每个季度日对应基督教日历中的一个重要节日，反映了历史上英格兰宗教和世俗生活的融合。
In England, quarter days are four specific dates in the calendar year that are traditionally significant for legal, financial, and agricultural matters. These days were historically used as the times for settling rents, hiring servants, and conducting various other business transactions. The four quarter days are:
- Lady Day (March 25): Also known as the Feast of the Annunciation, Lady Day marks the first quarter day of the year. It commemorates the announcement by the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus. This day also traditionally marked the beginning of the English legal year.
- Midsummer Day (June 24): Celebrated as the Feast of St. John the Baptist, Midsummer Day is the second quarter day. It falls around the time of the summer solstice and is associated with various customs and festivals, including bonfires and feasts.
- Michaelmas (September 29): The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, Michaelmas is the third quarter day. It marks the end of the harvest season and is associated with agricultural fairs and the hiring of laborers for the coming year. Traditionally, Michaelmas was also a time for settling debts and paying rents.
- Christmas (December 25): Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, Christmas is the fourth quarter day. While primarily a religious holiday, it also served as a significant date for financial settlements and the hiring or renewal of servants’ contracts.
Historical Significance
Legal and Financial Transactions:
- Rent Payments: Landlords and tenants often used quarter days to settle rent payments. This practice helped to ensure regular and predictable income for landlords.
- Contracts: Employment contracts, especially for agricultural laborers and domestic servants, were often timed around quarter days. This allowed employers to align their workforce with seasonal needs.
- Legal Matters: Legal and administrative activities, such as court sessions and the beginning of the legal year, were traditionally tied to quarter days.
Cultural and Agricultural Activities:
- Harvest Celebrations: Especially around Michaelmas, quarter days were associated with the end of the harvest season. Communities would hold fairs and feasts to celebrate the successful gathering of crops.
- Religious Observances: Each quarter day corresponds with a significant feast day in the Christian calendar, reflecting the integration of religious and secular life in historical England.
