Scottish Term Days were relevant to the people of Scotland in the Middle Ages. They were the four days dividing the legal year, when rent and interest on loans, and ministers' stipends were due, and when servants were hired and paid. Also on these days contracts and leases would begin or end.
Whitsun was originally the feast of Pentecost, around which a great many christenings would occur, so it became associated with the colour white. In Scotland the legal Term Day of Whitsun was fixed on 26 May (Julian Calendar). This translated to 15 May in the Gregorian Calendar at the time of the adoption of the new calendar (1752).
Lammas was celebrated on 1 August. This was 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. The original dates are now referred to as Old Scottish Term Days.
Medieval scholars discovered that the year of 365ΒΌ days was a slight over-estimate, and by the sixteenth century a discrepancy of about 10 days had accumulated between the calendar year and the solar year.
Answer: termdays, or quarter days, were the four days dividing the legal year, when rent and interest on loans were due, when ministers' stipends were due and servants hired and paid, and when contracts and leases often began or ended.
In Scotland the legal termday of Whitsun was fixed on 26 May Old Style and then 15 May New Style, irrespective of the day of the week that date fell on, whereas in England the quarter day was the movable feast of Whitsunday.
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