What does red letter mean?

What does red letter mean?

A red letter day (sometimes hyphenated as red-letter day or called scarlet day in academia) is any day of special significance or opportunity. Its roots are in classical antiquity; for instance, important days are indicated in red in a calendar dating from the Roman Republic (50927 BC).

What is the meaning of the idiom a red letter day?

Idioms and Phrases with red-letter day red-letter day. A special occasion, as in When Jack comes home from his tour of duty, that’ll be a red-letter day. This term alludes to the practice of marking feast days and other holy days in red on church calendars, dating from the 1400s. [ c. 1700]

Is a red letter day good or bad?

Because these holidays signified feasts and other fun events, people associated days with red writing on them as good, happy days. Some sources claim that the origin goes back even further, to ancient Rome, perhaps as far back as 500 B.C. In modern contexts, a red-letter day has come to mean any special occasion.