ember days, in the Western Church, traditionally the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following the first Sunday in Lent; Whitsunday; Sept. 14 (Exaltation of the Cross); and Dec. 13 (St. Lucy's Day). They were days of fasting to sanctify the season, and the ember Saturdays were considered especially appropriate for ordinations. The ember days are of very ancient and uncertain origin. The dates of their celebration are now determined by national hierarchies rather than by the universal Roman liturgical calendar, and they are frequently called "days of prayer for peace."

dog days, name for the most sultry period of summer, from about July 3 to Aug. 11. Named in early times by observers in countries bordering the Mediterranean, the period was reckoned as extending from 20 days before to 20 days after the conjunction of Sirius (the dog star) and the sun. In the latitude of the Mediterranean region this period coincided with hot days that were plagued with disease and discomfort. The time of conjunction varies with difference in latitude, and because of the precession of the equinoxes it changes gradually over long periods in all latitudes.

Seven Days battles, in the American Civil War, the week-long Confederate counter-offensive (June 26-July 2, 1862) near Richmond, Va., that ended the Peninsular campaign. After the battle of Fair Oaks the Union general George B. McClellan moved his army so that only the 5th Corps under Fitz-John Porter remained N of the Chickahominy River. Gen. Robert E. Lee, commanding the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, planned to attack Porter and cut McClellan off from his base at White House Landing on the Pamunkey River. Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson, who was on his way from the Shenandoah Valley to join Lee, was to advance from the north and turn Porter's strong position behind Beaver Dam Creek. A. P. Hill was then to attack the Union advance lines at Mechanicsville, a village c.5 mi (8 km) NE of Richmond. Jackson failed to arrive; nevertheless, Hill's troops attacked and were severely repulsed in the battle of Mechanicsville (or Beaver Dam Creek) on June 26. Porter then fell back to another strong position at Gaine's Mill, a locality near Old Cold Harbor, c.10 mi (16 km) NE of Richmond. There on June 27, Longstreet, Jackson, A. P. Hill, and Daniel H. Hill led the Confederates against Porter's greatly outnumbered forces and at nightfall finally broke the Union resistance. With a good part of his corps, Porter crossed the river and joined the bulk of McClellan's army, which had remained inactive. McClellan decided to move his base to the navigable James River in order to add naval support. His march from the Chickahominy River was well executed, and Lee was unsuccessful in intercepting him in the battles of Savage's Station on June 29 and Frayser's Farm (or Glendale) on June 30. McClellan posted his army on Malvern Hill, a strong defensive position on the north bank of the James c.18 mi (29 km) SE of Richmond. In the battle of Malvern Hill on July 1, the Union troops repeatedly repulsed the Confederate attacks in some of the hardest fighting of the war. On the next day, however, McClellan, declining to take the offensive, withdrew to Harrison's Landing on the James River, and the Peninsular campaign was over. Lee had suffered the heavier losses, and he had been unsuccessful in his attempts to dismember McClellan's retreating army. However, by taking the offensive Lee had saved Richmond, and not until 1864 did Union forces again come so near the Confederate capital.

Rogation Days, in the calendar of the Western Church, four days traditionally set apart for solemn processions to invoke God's mercy. They are Apr. 25, the Major Rogation, coinciding with St. Mark's Day; and the three days preceding Ascension Day, the Minor Rogations. The processions are Christian adaptations of Roman pagan ones; in rural districts they are regarded as blessing the fields. The prayers include the Litany of the Saints (see litany). Such liturgical usages are no longer prescribed in the universal Roman Catholic liturgical calendar; observance is left to the discretion of the national councils of bishops.

June Days, in French history, name usually given to the insurrection of workers in June, 1848. The working classes had played an important role in the February Revolution of 1848, but their hopes for economic and social reform were disappointed. Their increasing unrest was due to continued economic crisis and rising unemployment and to the inadequacy of the national workshops, which, although proposed by Louis Blanc, were never organized as he planned them. Instead of providing work, the workshops became a system of registering the unemployed for a meager dole. When a decree of June 21 abolished the workshops and required unemployed provincials to return to the provinces, the workers revolted to save their "democratic and social republic." There were four days (June 23-26) of violent fighting in the barricaded streets of Paris. General Cavaignac was given dictatorial powers and used harsh measures to suppress the insurrection. There were summary executions and more than 15,000 deportations to Algeria. The June Days further alienated the lower classes from the revolution.

Hundred Days, name given to the period after the return of the deposed French emperor, Napoleon I, from Elba. The Hundred Days are counted from Mar. 20, 1815, when Napoleon arrived in Paris, to June 28, 1815, when Louis XVIII was restored for the second time as king, following Napoleon's disastrous Waterloo campaign.

French Cent Jours

(1815) In French history, the period between Napoleon's arrival in Paris after escaping from exile on Elba and the return of Louis XVIII to Paris. Napoleon landed on French soil on March 1 and reached Paris on March 20. Austria, Britain, Prussia, and Russia swiftly concluded an alliance against Napoleon and forced a series of military engagements that led up to the Battle of Waterloo. On June 22 Napoleon abdicated a second time and was removed to St. Helena; Louis returned to Paris on July 8.

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