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| {{Short description|US regional holiday}} | |||
| '''Fast Day''' is an obsolete American ], "A day of public fasting and prayer", which was traditionally observed in the ] states. It had its origin in days of prayer and repentance proclaimed in the early days of the American colonies by Royal Governors, often before the ]. It was observed by church attendance, ] and abstinence from secular activities. The first fast day was proclaimed in ] on September 8, 1670. | |||
| {{About|the obsolete United States holiday|days of religious fasting|Fasting}} | |||
| {{for|the designated day in the LDS Church|Fast Sunday}} | |||
| ] ]'s February 26, 1735 (] 1736) proclamation of a fast day for April 1.]] | |||
| Fast day had lost its significance as a religious holiday by the late ]. It was abolished by ] in 1894 (being replaced with ]) and shortly thereafter by ] (likewise, it adopted the new holiday). It continued on in ] until 1991 (the April holiday was dropped and replaced with the January Civil Rights Day, and, in 1999, ]). | |||
| '''Fast Day''' was a holiday observed in some parts of the ] between 1670 and 1991. | |||
| "A day of public ] and prayer," it was traditionally observed in the ] states. It had its origin in days of prayer and repentance proclaimed in the early days of the ]n colonies by Royal Governors, to avoid such calamities as plagues, natural disasters or crop failures; it was common to hold a Fast Day before the spring planting (cf. ]).<ref name=nhgov>{{cite web |url=http://www.nh.gov/nhinfo/fast.html |title=Fast Day |first=Donna |last=Gilbreth |year=1997 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110102115710/http://www.nh.gov/nhinfo/fast.html |work=New Hampshire Almanac |publisher=] |archive-date=2011-01-02 |access-date=2020-08-26 }}</ref> It was observed by ], fasting, and abstinence from secular activities. | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| * | |||
| A Fast Day could be added for any particular reason in a particular year, rather than being instituted as an ongoing annual holiday. The earliest known Fast Day was proclaimed in colonial ], held on September 8, 1670.<ref name=nhgov/> The colonial ] proclaimed a Fast Day for February 26, 1680, seeking "God's blessing" on an upcoming General Assembly and for good weather during spring planting.<ref name=nhgov/> The following year, when illness struck ], the president of the Province of New Hampshire, and ] was seen in the sky, the province designated March 17, 1681 a Fast Day in response to these signs of "divine displeasure".<ref name=nhgov/> The image at right shows that ], colonial governor of the ], declared a Fast Day in 1735 because of "the holy Anger of Almighty God, evidently manifested in the various judgments inflicted on us", specifically highlighting a "mortal sickness" that had been divinely inflicted on the colonists. | |||
| * | |||
| Fast Day had lost its significance as a religious holiday by the late 19th century. It was abolished by ] in 1894, when that state replaced their Fast Day, celebrated on the third Monday in April, with ], commemorating the ] and the ] on the first day (April 19, 1775) of the ].<ref name=Punctuation>{{cite news |url=https://www.centralmaine.com/2014/04/20/patriot_s_day_or_patriots__day__punctuation_confusion_continues_/ |title=Patriot's Day or Patriots' Day? Punctuation confusion continues |first=Susan |last=McMillan |newspaper=] |date=2014-04-20 |access-date=2020-08-26}}</ref> ], which also celebrated Fast Day on the third Monday in April, changed it to Patriot's Day<!--- Maine uses different punctuation, as per cited article ---> in 1907.<ref name=Punctuation/> Fast Day continued in ] until 1991, with the late April holiday signifying only the opening of the summer tourist season; the state dropped Fast Day in 1991, replacing it with the January Civil Rights Day, which they renamed ] (the last U.S. state to do so) in 1999.<ref name=nhgov/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nhpr.org/post/nhs-martin-luther-king-jr-day-didnt-happen-without-fight#stream/0 |title=N.H.'s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Didn't Happen Without A Fight |first=Michael |last=Brindley |work=] |date=2013-08-27 |access-date=2020-08-26}}</ref> | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| {{Reflist}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 19:50, 7 September 2024
US regional holiday This article is about the obsolete United States holiday. For days of religious fasting, see Fasting. For the designated day in the LDS Church, see Fast Sunday.
Fast Day was a holiday observed in some parts of the United States between 1670 and 1991.
"A day of public fasting and prayer," it was traditionally observed in the New England states. It had its origin in days of prayer and repentance proclaimed in the early days of the British American colonies by Royal Governors, to avoid such calamities as plagues, natural disasters or crop failures; it was common to hold a Fast Day before the spring planting (cf. rogation days). It was observed by church attendance, fasting, and abstinence from secular activities.
A Fast Day could be added for any particular reason in a particular year, rather than being instituted as an ongoing annual holiday. The earliest known Fast Day was proclaimed in colonial Boston, held on September 8, 1670. The colonial Province of New Hampshire proclaimed a Fast Day for February 26, 1680, seeking "God's blessing" on an upcoming General Assembly and for good weather during spring planting. The following year, when illness struck John Cutt, the president of the Province of New Hampshire, and a comet was seen in the sky, the province designated March 17, 1681 a Fast Day in response to these signs of "divine displeasure". The image at right shows that Jonathan Belcher, colonial governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, declared a Fast Day in 1735 because of "the holy Anger of Almighty God, evidently manifested in the various judgments inflicted on us", specifically highlighting a "mortal sickness" that had been divinely inflicted on the colonists.
Fast Day had lost its significance as a religious holiday by the late 19th century. It was abolished by Massachusetts in 1894, when that state replaced their Fast Day, celebrated on the third Monday in April, with Patriots' Day, commemorating the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Menotomy on the first day (April 19, 1775) of the American Revolutionary War. Maine, which also celebrated Fast Day on the third Monday in April, changed it to Patriot's Day in 1907. Fast Day continued in New Hampshire until 1991, with the late April holiday signifying only the opening of the summer tourist season; the state dropped Fast Day in 1991, replacing it with the January Civil Rights Day, which they renamed Martin Luther King Jr. Day (the last U.S. state to do so) in 1999.
Notes
- ^ Gilbreth, Donna (1997). "Fast Day". New Hampshire Almanac. New Hampshire State Library. Archived from the original on 2011-01-02. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
- ^ McMillan, Susan (2014-04-20). "Patriot's Day or Patriots' Day? Punctuation confusion continues". Kennebec Journal. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
- Brindley, Michael (2013-08-27). "N.H.'s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Didn't Happen Without A Fight". New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved 2020-08-26.