Michaelmas

In the Christian Church, the feast of St Michael and All Angels (29 Sep); a quarter-day in England and Wales.

Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, is a day in the Christian calendar, taking place on 29 September. Because it falls near the equinox, it is associated with the beginning of Autumn and the shortening of days.

During the Middle Ages, Michaelmas was celebrated as a holy day of obligation, but this tradition was abolished in the 18th Century. It was also one of the English and Welsh and Irish quarter days when accounts had to be settled.

Michaelmas is also used in the extended sense of "Autumn", used as the name of the first term of the academic year, which begins at this time, at various educational institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland (typically those with lengthy history and traditions): King's College London, St Andrews, Cambridge, University of Wales, Lampeter, Durham, London School of Economics, Oxford, Lancaster, Trinity College, Dublin and University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

The Inns of Court of the English bar also have a Michaelmas term as one of their dining terms.