From time immemorial, the sky has served people both for hours and for calendars. The length of daylight hours, the location of the sun at the time of sunrise and sunset played an important role in determining the life cycles of people. The autumn solstice denotes the moment when day and night are practically equal in time. Ancient people celebrated this event, conducting the relevant rites.
History
Different peoples in their own way celebrate the autumn equinox. This holiday has been known since pagan times. It was believed that after him comes the power of darkness. People pronounced thanks to their gods for prosperity and harvest. Autumn solstice allows you to take stock of the past year.
The ancient Celts celebrated Mabon, celebrating the day of gratitude for the harvest and ripening of apples. In many European countries, his traditions are still alive today. It is customary to decorate the church with everything that is collected from fields and gardens: vegetables, fruits, flowers. After the service, everyone is distributed to those in need. In the evening, at a richly laid table (called the “last sheaf dinner”), the farmer expresses gratitude to his workers. In the Middle Ages, the holiday was timed to coincide with St. Michael's Day (September 29 - Day of the Archangel Michael).
The ancient autumn Slavic holiday in its essence is also gratitude to Mother Earth for the harvest. It was called in different ways: Aries, Tausen, Labor, Autumn, Mistresses. On this day, the goddess Lada was especially revered, she was the patroness of fertility, marriage and weddings among Slavic tribes. After September 22, weddings were played. The holiday 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 cake of human height, and a priest was hiding behind it. If because of the pie it was not visible, then the harvest is rich. Other tribes, instead of pie, piled the harvest. The Orthodox Church celebrates on this day the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
A bit of science
Only at the autumn and spring solstices (equinoxes) does the sun rise exactly in the east and set strictly in the west. It is believed that the duration of day and night are equal. From the point of view of astrology, this is not entirely true. Day is a little longer than night. The effect is observed due to atmospheric refraction. Light rays, refracted in the atmosphere, change the location of the star 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 star, and the moment of sunrise and sunset - at its upper point. At the autumn solstice, the sun stands directly above the equator, providing the same "illumination" to the southern and northern hemispheres.
On other planets of the solar system, there is also a change of seasons and the days of the equinox. The scale of the phenomenon corresponds to the remoteness of the celestial body from the sun and the inclination of its axis. On Mars, winter lasts about 154 days and is very similar in duration to Earth. The axis of Uranus is tilted by 90 °, 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 observing them from the Earth. During the equinox on Saturn, the sun shines on the rings in such a way that low shadows flicker away from them, indicating their three-dimensional structure.
Signs
The autumn solstice pays special attention to the weather, the behavior of birds, the fruits on the trees:
- What the weather will be like on this day, so will the whole autumn.
- Dry warm weather predicts a mild winter.
- A rich harvest of mountain ash 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 flight of cranes on this day - to a harsh winter.
- If domestic hens begin to molt shortly or during the holiday, then the winter will be warm.
What can and should be done
Pagan practices call to perform the appropriate ceremonies for the autumn solstice:
- Be sure to take a shower: it is believed that water until dawn has magical properties. A woman, having washed such water, will be attractive until old age, and if she douses a child, he will not be 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 wealth, health, love and joy, a large round cake is baked. He will be a symbol of family affluence. With cabbage - for money, with meat - for success in work, career growth, with berries - for family well-being.
- They thank God for all that was received in the year. Failures are accepted as a valuable experience. They pay tribute to all who helped, forgive all who offended.
- By its energy, the autumn solstice is equated to a new moon. You can confidently start new business.
- 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 certainly be a benefit.
Rituals and rituals
Our ancestors performed special rituals for the autumn solstice:
- they always put out the old fire in the oven and lit a new one, which marked the coming of the New Year;
- the holiday was complete 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 of the evil one, and help with insomnia;
- walked on the ground barefoot, gaining energy;
- adult children took refreshments and came to their parents in their father's house for a joint meal;
- they made sure that the table was rich, for the poor promised a hungry and bad year;
- a married woman put on a belt over the dress, if he fell, it means that the couple was envied, and the couple should try to save their marriage;
- unmarried girls bought “up to a couple” items into the house to attract the groom: a second pillow, a toothbrush, a towel.
