Hello, I’m Rachel. I write about nature and creativity to encourage connection and wellbeing. This is one of my posts noting the changes in the seasons and how humans around the world celebrate and mark it. To read about other points in the year go to my homepage and click on the marking the seasons tab
Hello, the year is turning, and the nights are drawing in. This post is a little longer than usual because there are lots of interesting nuggets to bring you. So grab yourself a hot drink and maybe a blanket if your feet are chilly.
Equinox - equal night, from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night)
On Sunday 22nd at 12.44 in the UK (GMT so 1.44 BST) the sun crosses the equator and equally illuminates both hemispheres. The sun rises due east and sets due west. In the Northern Hemisphere, this gives us the autumn equinox, and in the Southern Hemisphere, the spring equinox. If we are going by the astronomical calendar this is the point the seasons change - longer nights take over. If it is the meteorological calendar, it started on the 1st September. So that’s the science bit. If you want more science go to the Royal Observatory Greenwich website and the Met Office.
But if we look at the phenological calendar, the shift is much more gradual, but nature’s indicators are all around us even if timings vary locally depending on all the factors - light, temperature and weather. I’ve still to find many conkers, I’m going to go on a conker hunt this week!
Marking the equinox (which I seem to be repeatedly spelling wrong this morning - I do love spell check) can sometimes be seen as a ‘pagan’ ritual, mixed up with witchcraft and spells, feared, and demonised by certain religions. But really, it’s about nature, it’s about what the planet and its inhabitants are doing in this season. Most autumnal festivals around the world celebrate what is being done to prepare for the colder days. For humans (and those creatures that don’t flee south) in the Northern Hemisphere, that’s bringing in the harvest and preparing enough food to last through winter.
We don’t really know how the autumn equinox was celebrated in early history, but throughout history, this time of gathering and preparing has been marked, to give thanks, to note the turning of the year, and as a reason to come together. Isn’t this a universal reason for celebration? Maybe think of it as Autumn’s birthday?
Let’s go on a little tour to see how this thread of thanks for the harvest unites us around the world.
While the Neopagan festival of Mabon does have roots in the universal celebrations of harvest, it was actually added to the Wheel of the Year (which is based on the astronomical points of solstices and equinoxes) as a quarter-day in the 1960/70’s alongside other more ancient pre Christian festivals such as Samhain and Yule.
Now let’s go a lot further back in time to Ancient Greece and the festival of Thesmophoria which honoured The Goddesses Persephone and her mother Demeter. What’s this to do with autumn and harvest? Well it took place at time of the harvest because Persephone and her Mother Demeter were the Goddesses of Agriculture (and fertility - more on this below). To cut a long story short, Persephone had to return each winter to her husband Hades in the underworld and so farming could not take place whilst her Mother mourned her. I’m really not explaining this very well so go to Wikipedia or The Hellenic Museum for info not written by someone with brain fog. The myths, as with all traditional tales were the Greeks way of explaining what was happening in nature, and by honouring the gods, they were really giving thanks for what was happening on Earth. And the best bit about this festival (I think) as Demeter and Persephone were also the Goddesses of Fertility, Thesmopheria was only allowed to be celebrated by women (ok so only the wives of male citizens) when all other festivals were generally only for men. Men weren’t even allowed to know what rituals it involved, a little piece of feminism in Ancient Greece.
Next stop is Japan and the Buddhist festival of Higan. This is marked at both equinoxes honouring the cycle of life and so is a time for remembrance of passed relatives. Some references say the gentler weather that can coincide with the equinoxes gave agricultural workers time to pause and reflect and by honouring their ancestors connect with their own spiritual journey. The Autumnal Equinox, coincided with the end of the rice harvest, and so traditional rice dishes form part of the rituals. For me in the UK it’s rather hard to find in-depth information on this festival, so apologises if I’ve misrepresented it, I do try to cross reference my sources.
Heading over to the American continent, at the Ancient Mayan temple of Chichen Itza in Mexico, a feathered serpent descends the staircase of the pyramid each equinox. This amazing feat takes place because of the understanding the Mayans (and other Central/South American peoples) had of astronomy and architecture, enabling them to design the pyramid so the sun illuminated the staircase on the afternoon of the equinoxes. For these communities, this knowledge was important as the equinoxes marked the change in the seasons and thus governed the agricultural year.
And so we come to the European Christian world. While there is not a specific day/celebration for the autumn equinox in Western Christianity, Michaelmas day in the Catholic tradition is marked on 29th September and throughout the late summer/early autumn Harvest festivals are a major part of cultural and church calendars. In Poland and other Eastern European countries, the Dożynki harvest festival is celebrated on the equinox with a special wreath made of harvested crops along with music, dancing and feasting. In the UK churches and schools hold special services with displays of produce and donations of food are given to be distributed to those in need. Communities hold apple days and harvest events. Social and traditional media are full of recipes for dealing with gluts of produce, which in the past would have been a necessary way to preserve fruit and vegetables for the winter season.
There are also a whole host of festivals around September’s full moon, such as China’s Moon Festival which also acts as a harvest festival. This year the full moon nearly coincided with the equinox. Therefore here in Brighton this week there have been super low tides and good weather meant stunning sunsets so most of the city is down celebrating it on the beach.
These are some of the human festivals, what about nature? They might not be building temples and going to church but it is a time of preparation and gathering. The hedgerows, fields, and verges are full of fruits, seeds, and berries. The cycle of life for plants moves on to preparing for rest and ensuring the next generation by foliage dying back and seeds being produced. Just as humans take advantage of this bounty, so do the more than human residents. Birds feast on hedgerow fruits, squirrels and jays hoard acorns and other nuts. The rosehips on my rosebush have been raided by the neighbourhood fox.
If the more religious rituals around autumn don’t appeal to you, maybe think about stripping it back and just noticing what nature is doing. Modern urban life can easily go by with little attention to the changing seasons other than a change of wardrobe and arguments about when to put the heating on. We don’t have to worry about preserving food to last through the winter as the supermarkets provide whatever we want, whenever we want it. Maybe give yourself a little space and calm by marvelling at the colour of the leaves, and the amazingness of acorns in their little cups. Collect conkers and turn your fingers red by harvesting blackberries. Have a go at making sloe gin or elderberry cordial, or some apple chutney. See if a local orchard or community garden is holding an Apple Day or Harvest Celebration, maybe a local woodland, garden or arboretum has a special autumn colour trail.
Recognising the natural wonders of each season can help us appreciate it, rather than simply fearing the coming of colder, darker days. Slowing down and looking at the changing colour of the leaves stops days from rushing by in a blur. Noticing the way a spider’s web catches the morning sun brings a moment of awe into daily life. By getting outside we can make the most of the sun and warmth that is still there. Pulling on waterproof shoes and coats means puddles and precipitation don’t matter.
Every season has its role to play, without autumn producing seeds there wouldn’t be new growth in spring.
I do hope this encourages you to go out and celebrate the changing of the seasons, or at least notice it. Thank you for getting this far. My brain is feeling as mushy as windfall apples so excuse me if I’m not as eloquent and succinct as usual. I really wanted to write a post on the equinox and thought that was more important than waiting until my brain worked better!
Next week is going to be a nudge from nature, a more specific invitation to connect creatively with nature and the changing season.
For me the equinox typically coincides with the last hummingbird leaving for the year.
Time to see the equinox sunset on Brighton Beach!