There's a chill in the air, yet a warm sun still shines on the early turning golden leaves. At the equinox, the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west. On the autumnal equinox, which in the northern hemisphere is circa September 21 (my birthday), Mabon, one of the eight solar holidays or Sabbats of Neopaganism is celebrated.
Also called Harvest Home, a recognition of the need to share and secure the blessings of the Goddess and God during the winter months. This holiday is a ritual of thanksgiving for the fruits of the Earth and is the second of the three harvest festivals, preceded by Lammas and followed by Samhain.
The name Mabon has only been applied to the neopagan festival of the autumn equinox recently; it was not an authentic ancient festival either in name or date. The name Mabon was chosen to impart a more authentic-sounding "Celtic" feel to the event, since all the other festivals either had names deriving from genuine tradition, or had had names grafted on to them. The autumn equinox was not celebrated in Celtic countries and what is known about Anglo-Saxon customs of that time was that September was known as haleg-monath or 'holy month'.
