The sky has served people as both a clock and a calendar since ancient times. The length of daylight hours, the location of the sun at sunrise and sunset played an important role in determining the life cycles of people. The autumn solstice marks the moment when day and night are almost equal in time. Ancient people celebrated this event by conducting appropriate ceremonies.
History
Different peoples celebrate the autumn equinox in their own way. This holiday has been known since pagan times. It was believed that after him comes the power of darkness. People uttered words of gratitude to their gods for prosperity and harvest. The autumn solstice allows you to take stock of the past year.
The ancient Celts celebrated Mabon, marking the day of gratitude for the harvest and ripening of apples. In many European countries, its traditions are still alive today. It is customary to decorate churches with everything that is collected from fields and gardens: vegetables, fruits, flowers. After the service, everything is distributed to those in need. In the evening at a richly laid table (it is called "dinnerlast sheaf") the farmer expresses his gratitude to his workers. In the Middle Ages, the holiday was timed to coincide with St. Michael's Day (September 29 - the Day of the Archangel Michael).
Ancient autumn Slavic holiday in its essence is also gratitude to mother earth for the harvest. He was called differently: Ovsen, Tausen, Rodagoshch, Osenins, Mistresses. On this day, the goddess Lada was especially revered; among the Slavic tribes, she was the patroness of fertility, marriage and weddings. After September 22, weddings were played. The celebration lasted for two weeks.
In Russia it was customary to bake pies with cabbage, apples, lingonberries. There was a curious custom: they baked a huge, human-sized pie, and a priest hid behind it. If it was not visible because of the pie, then the harvest is rich. Other tribes put their harvest on the table instead of a pie. The Orthodox Church celebrates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on this day.
A bit of science
Only on the autumn and spring solstice (equinox) the sun rises exactly in the east and sets strictly in the west. It is believed that the duration of the day and night are equal. From an astrological point of view, this is not entirely true. The day is slightly longer than the night. The effect is observed due to atmospheric refraction. Light rays, refracted in the atmosphere, change the location of the luminary in the sky. Therefore, sunrise occurs a little earlier, and sunset, respectively, later.
Another reason is the angular parameters of the Sun itself. The equinox is estimated at the center of the disk of the luminary, and the moment of sunrise and sunset -along its top point. At the autumn solstice, the sun is directly above the equator, providing equal "light" to the southern and northern hemispheres.
On other planets of the solar system, there are also seasons and equinoxes. The scale of the phenomenon corresponds to the distance of the celestial body from the luminary and the tilt of its axis. On Mars, winter lasts approximately 154 days and is very similar in duration to Earth's. The axis of Uranus is tilted 90o, the period of revolution around the Sun is 84 Earth years. Of these, winter lasts 42. Seasonal changes change the appearance of the planets when they are observed from Earth. During Saturn's equinox, the sun shines on the rings in such a way that low shadows bounce off them, indicating their three-dimensional structure.
Signs
At the autumn solstice, they pay special attention to the weather, the behavior of birds, the fruits on the trees:
- What will be the weather on this day, so will the whole autumn.
- Dry warm weather predicts a mild winter.
- A plentiful rowan harvest promised a rainy autumn and a cold winter.
- If there are few fruits on the tree, they were in no hurry to harvest, because there should be little rain.
- The appearance of yellow leaves on the mountain ash - to early frosts and cold winters.
- There will be a lot of snow at Christmas if there was a rich harvest of acorns.
- The departure of the cranes on this day is for a harsh winter.
- If domestic chickens begin to molt shortly or during the holiday, then the winter will be warm.
What can and should be done
Pagan practices call for appropriate rituals for the autumn solstice:
- Be sure to take a shower: it is believed that water before dawn has magical properties. A woman, having washed herself with such water, will be attractive until old age, and if a child is poured over, he will not get sick for a year.
- A good reason to get rid of old unnecessary things. They are burned, and with them all the problems and misfortunes of the outgoing year.
- To attract we alth, he alth, love and joy, a big round cake is baked. It will be a symbol of family prosperity. With cabbage - for money, with meat - for success in work, career growth, with berries - for family well-being.
- Thank the Almighty for everything that was received in the year. Failure is accepted as a valuable experience. They pay tribute to everyone who helped, forgive everyone who offended.
- In its energy, the autumn solstice is equivalent to the new moon. You can start new things with confidence.
- The first days after the autumn solstice are the most successful for trading. And it’s good not only to sell, but also to make any purchases: there will definitely be a benefit.
Rites and rituals
Our ancestors performed special rituals for the autumn solstice:
- be sure to extinguish the old fire in the furnace and light a new one, which marked the arrival of the New Year;
- the holiday could not do without round dances and dances;
- baked loaves;
- decorated houses with rowan fruits - people believed that they would protect from troubles and troubles, cleanse the house from the evil one, help with insomnia;
- wenton the ground barefoot, gaining energy;
- adult children took treats and came to their parents in their father's house for a joint meal;
- watched out that the table was rich, for the poor promised a hungry and unsuccessful year;
- a married woman put on a belt over her dress, if it fell, it means that the couple was envied, and the married couple should try to save their marriage;
- Unmarried girls, in order to attract the groom, purchased items "up to a couple" in the house: a second pillow, a toothbrush, a towel.
Events
On the day of the autumn solstice, many significant events in the history of mankind and individual countries took place:
- 2010 - Israel Passes Civil Marriage Law (for Atheists);
- 2002 – Euthanasia law passed in Belgium;
- 2006 - Japanese scientific satellite launched to study the Sun;
- 2000 – Microsoft shares plunged, reducing Bill Gates' fortune by $22 million;
- 1999 - the oldest flute discovered in China, its age was 9000 years;
- 1993 - the worst disaster in the history of the Amtrak railroad company;
- 1991 – Armenia becomes an independent state;
- 1989 - Azerbaijan announced the recognition of the Azerbaijani language as the state language;
- 1980 – Iran-Iraq war begins;
- 1960 - Mali becomes an independent nation;
- 1955 - UK starts commercial television;
- 1937 – Poltava,Zhytomyr and Mykolaiv regions;
- 1930 - patented flash;
- 1921 - Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia admitted to the League of Nations;
- 1869 - Austria issued the first postcards;
- 1862 - Freeing of Negro slaves announced in the USA;
- 1848 - First chewing gum produced;
- 1839 - the beginning of the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior (date according to the old style);
- 1792 - French Republic proclaimed;
- 1784 – the first Russian settlement in Alaska was founded;
- 1764 – milestones introduced in Russia;
- 1499 - The Swiss Confederation gained independence from the Roman Empire;
- 1236 – The Royal Council of France decided on the mass arrest of the Templars.
On this day (September 22) celebrate:
- International Elephant Day.
- World Car Day.
- Mali Independence Day.
- Day of Partisan Glory (Ukraine).
- B altic Unity Day (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania).
- Bulgarian Independence Day.
- Business Woman Day (USA).
- In Japan, this is an official holiday, a day off when it is customary to visit the graves of ancestors.
