Fast Day
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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 observed 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)