Brewer's: White Moments of Life

(The). The red-letter days or happy moments of life. The Romans used to mark unlucky days, in their calendars, with black chalk, and lucky ones with white chalk; hence Nortare diem lactea gemma or alba means to mark a day as a lucky one.

“These, my young friend, these are the white moments of one's life.” —SirW.Scott: The Antiquary, chap. iii.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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