Fast Day is an obsolete American holiday, "A day of public fasting and prayer", which 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 American colonies by Royal Governors, often before the spring planting. It was oberved by church attendance, fasting and abstinence from secular activities. The first fast day was proclaimed in Boston on September 8, 1670.
Fast day had lost its significance as a religious holiday by the late 1800s. It was abolished by Massachusetts in 1894 (being replaced with Patriot's Day) and shortly thereafter by Maine (likewise, it adopted the new holiday). It continued on in New Hampshire until 1991 (the April holiday was dropped and replaced with the January Civil Rights Day, and, in 1999, Martin Luther King Day). [1] (http://www.state.nh.us/nhinfo/fast.html)
External links
Rise and Fall of Fast Day (http://www.state.nh.us/nhinfo/fast.html)
The Feasts and Fasts of Spring (http://www.osv.org/education/OSVisitor/Feasts.html)
Fastdays were a common occurrence in the early days of the colonies.
These were days of public humiliation, fasting and prayer proclaimed by the royal governors of the colonies to avert or repent for calamities such as plagues, earthquakes, crop failures, etc. Fastdays were generally held before the spring planting, and a thanksgiving day was held after the harvest.
John Cutt, President of the Council that declared this day of humiliation, became the reason for a day of "public fasting and prayer." Cutt was born in England in 1613, emigrated to the colonies in 1646, and became a prosperous merchant in Portsmouth.
Fasts held on occasions of public distress may be declared for universal observance, for one country, for one city, or even by one community within a city.
Thus, it might sometimes happen that a fastday is declared in one place where the community has been harmed by a particular event, even though the same event may be fortuitous for another community.
Since such a fast is intended for the serenity of the soul, one may even fast on Shabbat; however, to atone for having infringed upon the joy of Shabbat, one must then fast on another day in compensation (Talmud, Berakhot 31b).
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