Also known as Mabon, it is the major harvest festival and the time of counting down to winter. While the days have been getting shorter since the Summer Solstice, we tend not to notice too much until around this time in the fall, when suddenly it seems that we can feel the shortness of the days every day, earlier sundowns, darker mornings and we travel down the road to darkness until the Winter Solstice.
On the 23rd day and night are equal length and traditionally cultures around the world celebrate this day.
In our modern culture many people celebrate fall festivals without knowing why. Take away modern conveniences and our ancestors celebrate the fall as a time of plenty, knowing that not everyone will survive the winter and be able to celebrate the spring. In temperate climates winters can be harsh so the last days of warm days, full pantries and a little free time should be celebrated by all of us.
My Wheel of the Year is divided into Sun Festivals (Solstices and Equinoxes) and Fire Festivals (Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasad and Samhain). Celebrate this Sun Festival with friends and neighbors, eat out of the fall harvests and enjoy the changing of the seasons.
Happy Fall! I'm so excited that it has finally come around again. ^.^
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