Happy Autumn Equinox, Autumnal Equinox, Mabon, Second Harvest! Today is celebrated throughout so many different cultures. It is a day of balance where day and night are equal and it is a day of thanks for the bountiful harvest that you have received until now.
There are so many ways you can celebrate this day be it big or small. Recognize the balance of day and night and bring some balance into your life where you feel it is needed. Give thanks today for all your blessings throughout the past year and celebrate with a feast using fall's harvest of squash, gourds, apples, seeds etc. Even if you don't garden or have a farm... your "harvest" or "bounty" can be represented by all the gifts and blessings that have come to you this year. This is a time to recognize that the warmer months are behind us and to prepare for the colder months ahead. Go for a walk and embrace and appreciate the nature around you. Decorate your home in fall colors!
I've mentioned "Giving Thanks" a couple of times and this is probably making you think of one of our American Holidays in November... Thanksgiving. Well... I am completely amazed from what I've learned in my research of the Autumn Equinox. Did you know that the original date of the Thanksgiving Holiday was October 3rd, which makes a lot of sense considering that most of the harvest has been depleted by the end of November.
"In 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued his "Thanksgiving Proclamation", which changed the date to the last Thursday in November. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt adjusted it yet again, making it the second-to-last Thursday, in the hopes of boosting post-Depression holiday sales. Unfortunately, all this did was confuse people. Two years later, Congress finalized it, saying that the fourth Thursday of November would be Thanksgiving, each year." -about.com.
So although we of course we will always celebrate Thanksgiving in the end of November. There's no reason not to give thanks all year round, especially during this time when the Autumn Equinox celebrates the ending of one season and the beginning of another.
So today take a moment to find balance, give thanks, and appreciate the beauty that is being provided to us during this time of year.
There are so many ways you can celebrate this day be it big or small. Recognize the balance of day and night and bring some balance into your life where you feel it is needed. Give thanks today for all your blessings throughout the past year and celebrate with a feast using fall's harvest of squash, gourds, apples, seeds etc. Even if you don't garden or have a farm... your "harvest" or "bounty" can be represented by all the gifts and blessings that have come to you this year. This is a time to recognize that the warmer months are behind us and to prepare for the colder months ahead. Go for a walk and embrace and appreciate the nature around you. Decorate your home in fall colors!
I've mentioned "Giving Thanks" a couple of times and this is probably making you think of one of our American Holidays in November... Thanksgiving. Well... I am completely amazed from what I've learned in my research of the Autumn Equinox. Did you know that the original date of the Thanksgiving Holiday was October 3rd, which makes a lot of sense considering that most of the harvest has been depleted by the end of November.
"In 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued his "Thanksgiving Proclamation", which changed the date to the last Thursday in November. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt adjusted it yet again, making it the second-to-last Thursday, in the hopes of boosting post-Depression holiday sales. Unfortunately, all this did was confuse people. Two years later, Congress finalized it, saying that the fourth Thursday of November would be Thanksgiving, each year." -about.com.
So although we of course we will always celebrate Thanksgiving in the end of November. There's no reason not to give thanks all year round, especially during this time when the Autumn Equinox celebrates the ending of one season and the beginning of another.
So today take a moment to find balance, give thanks, and appreciate the beauty that is being provided to us during this time of year.
