This year, occurs on Tuesday, September 21. The pyramid is built such that, on the equinoxes, it casts a shadow that represents a snake crawling down the temple.Īnother modern tradition is the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, also called the Mooncake Festival, which still takes place across China and has roots in harvest celebrations. It was built in dedication to Kukulkan, a feathered serpent god who returns to Earth on the equinoxes to provide blessings for harvests, according to legend. But in the distant past, the equinox was something to mark and celebrate, because it meant winters end or the approach of the harvest. In Mexico, tourists still flock to the pyramid at Chich'en Itza every equinox. Stonehenge, in England, is a popular one, though it's usually associated with the solstices rather than the equinoxes. 1 This is about halfway between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice. There are also artificial landmarks still standing today that are thought to relate to the sun's path across the sky throughout the year. Celebrations begin on the evening of 31 October, since the Celtic day began and ended at sunset. In ancient China, for example, people would celebrate a successful harvest of rice and wheat around this time, as did people living in the U.K.
To ancient Greeks, the fall equinox marked the return of the goddess Persephone to her husband Hades in the underworld.įor some Japanese Buddhists, the fall equinox coincides with the Higan holiday in which people return to their hometowns to pay respects to their ancestors.Įlsewhere, the fall equinox was a time to celebrate food and harvests. Having made note of this annual phenomenon, ancient cultures placed a significance on the fall equinox-though it meant different things to different people. On the equinoxes, the sun rises and sets along the path of the equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, for example, one may notice that the sun is shifting towards the south as summer comes to a close. experiences winter.Īncient cultures noticed that throughout the year, the sun tended to rise and set in a slightly different position in the sky throughout the year. This is why Australia experiences summer at the same time as the U.S. This means that at some parts of the year the northern half gets more sunlight and warmth than the southern half, and vice versa. Amateur Astronomer Films the Moment Jupiter Is Hit by a Space RockĮquinoxes, like the solstices, occur because the Earth is tilted slightly on its side as it orbits the sun.Centuries-Long Mystery of Weird Light That Puzzled Astronomers Solved.
AUTUMN EQUINOX MEANING AND CELEBRATION FULL
Why September's Full Moon Before the Fall Equinox Is Called a Harvest Moon The Autumn Equinox is a meaningful time of year to honor the harvest.
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