The Sun will once again cross the celestial equator and move from the northern hemisphere of the celestial sphere to the southern, and the autumnal equinox will begin, or astronomical autumn in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern.
On this day, the length of day and night throughout the Earth is the same and equal to 12 hours.
The autumn equinox is one of the sacred holidays that has been revered and solemnly celebrated since ancient times. It was a time of giving thanks to the gods for harvests and prosperity, as well as paying honor to the dead and decorating graves.
Autumn equinox day in Abkhazia
In the everyday life of the Abkhazians, the day of the autumnal equinox was celebrated in a unique way.
“On this day, the Abkhaz say “atsәқәa antsәybbua”, the time when a calf is released for a walk with a bull, considering it large enough to graze with adult animals. Even the name of the month “tsәybbra” (September) comes precisely because of this,” - notes folklorist Esma Todua.
According to Todua, the ritual of “removing the bottle” also occurs during the autumn harvest.
“After family prayer, when only dishes from the new harvest were placed on the table - hominy, the meat of a sacrificial animal, in the corner of the apatskhi (wicker house-kitchen among the Abkhaz - ed.) they hung a bottle of grape vodka, so that a year later at a similar holiday they would open it, and then fill the container with the young drink,” Todua said.
Autumn equinox among the Celts
On the autumn equinox, the ancient Celts celebrated Mabon, a festival of the second harvest and the ripening of apples. Mabon traditions have been alive since pagan times in many European countries, where harvest festivals are traditionally held at the end of September.
Autumn Equinox in Japan
In Japan, the Autumn Equinox Day is considered an official holiday and has been celebrated since 1878. On this day, the Japanese celebrate not so much a unique astronomical phenomenon as they perform the ancient rituals of the Buddhist holiday Higan, when, according to tradition, it is customary to remember deceased ancestors.
Before the holiday begins, they thoroughly clean the house, especially the home altar with photographs and belongings of departed ancestors, refresh flowers, and display ritual food and offerings.
On this day, vegetable-based broths are prepared exclusively from beans, vegetables, mushrooms, as a reminder of the Buddhist prohibition to kill a living creature and eat the meat of the killed. On Higan days, Japanese families go to worship the graves of their ancestors, order prayers and perform the necessary ritual honors.
Autumnal equinox in Mexico
In Mexico, on the autumn equinox, many try to visit the famous pyramid of Kukulcan (in the Mayan language - “feathered serpent”) in the ancient city of Chichen Itza.
The pyramid is oriented in relation to the Sun in such a way that it is on the days of the spring and autumn equinox that the rays project the shadows of the platforms onto the edge of the main staircase in the form of alternating triangles of light and shadow. As the sun sinks lower, the shadow takes on the increasingly distinct contours of a writhing snake. Her tail is on the upper platform, her body stretches along the stairs and ends with her head near the ground. The light illusion lasts exactly 3 hours 22 minutes, and according to legends, during this time you need to be at the top and make a wish.
Day of the autumnal equinox in Rus'
In Rus', the day of the autumn equinox was also considered a holiday and was always celebrated with pies with cabbage, lingonberries and meat, as well as folk festivities. On this day, in the evening, rowan tassels along with leaves were inserted between the window frames, believing that from this day, when the sun begins to weaken, rowan will protect the house from the forces of darkness. People believed that a rowan branch plucked on this day would save people from insomnia and night suffocation caused by evil spirits.
The day of the autumn equinox - the beginning of the autumn blues
According to doctor Hersina Gulia, the day of the autumn equinox is especially difficult for weather-sensitive people.
“For some, this is an ordinary day, but for others, they fully experience its influence, it really does exist. Exacerbation of chronic diseases, emotional depression and loss of strength, weakness, increased blood pressure and dizziness,” the doctor noted.
Hersina Gulia noted that the equinox is a conditional beginning
“Therefore, in order to prevent seasonal depression from spreading, it is worth radically changing your daily routine today. This would seem to be an ordinary day, but it can significantly ruin your well-being,” Gulia said.
On the day of the autumn equinox, the sun once again crosses the celestial equator and moves from the northern hemisphere to the southern. On September 22, the length of daylight and night throughout the Earth is the same and equals 12 hours.
An interesting fact is that autumn and winter in the northern hemisphere are a week shorter than the autumn-winter season in the southern hemisphere: the number of days from the spring equinox to the autumn equinox is 186, and the time period from the autumn to the spring equinox is 179 days. In the winter of the northern hemisphere, the Earth moves around the celestial body faster than in the winter of the southern hemisphere. In January, the globe passes the point of its orbit closest to the Sun - perihelion and its linear speed increases.
Signs on the Day of the Autumn Equinox
- What the weather is like on this day - the same will be the case in autumn.
- If there are few berries on the rowan tree, the autumn will be dry and not rainy.
- To ensure wealth, you need to celebrate all week.
- If birds fly away in flocks, expect a cold winter.
- Whoever saw the wedding procession on this day will be happy for a whole year.
In September, Japan has another public holiday - the autumn equinox. In 2016 it falls on September 22. Today, schools and businesses are closed as the Japanese enjoy another day off. By this time, summer sweltering heat and daytime heat have passed in Japan. In Japan they say “it’s hot until the days of Higana,” and after that comes the pleasant Indian summer season.
The celebration of the Autumn Equinox Day was approved in 1948 by the Japanese National Holidays Law. According to this law, the purpose of the holiday is to “honor ancestors and preserve the memory of the dead.”
Therefore, although this day is designated in the calendar as the Day of the Autumn Equinox, or in Japanese 秋分の日 (Shu-bun-no Hi), in fact, Japan celebrates not so much a unique astronomical phenomenon as it honors the rituals of the Buddhist holiday Higan. The Buddhist concept of “higan” can be translated from Japanese as “that shore,” which implies another world where ancestors go and where their souls settle. The days of the autumn Higan are a week that includes 3 days before and after the autumn equinox, and, of course, the autumn equinox itself.
Before the start of Higan, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the house, especially the home altar with photographs and belongings of departed ancestors, bring fresh flowers, prepare and display ritual foods and offerings. Ritual dishes are prepared only vegetarian, in accordance with the Buddhist prohibition of killing a living creature and eating the meat of the killed one. The main menu consists of beans, vegetables, mushrooms, and the broths are also non-meat. On this holiday, inari sushi stuffed with beans, carrots, and mushrooms is always prepared for the table. The sweets are usually made into traditional ohagi-mochi. Ohagi has now become one of the favorite desserts of the Japanese.
Many Japanese, especially Buddhists, visit ancestral graves on this day. That is why these days on the streets of cities and villages in Japan you can see people with flowers in their hands, rushing to the cemetery to clean the graves, light incense and bow to the departed.
There is a Japanese proverb that says “Heat and cold end at Higan”, that is, the autumnal equinox also marks the change of seasons, and the Japanese hope that the cold of winter and the heat of summer will recede while visiting the graves of their ancestors.
長月 (nagatsuki) The 9th lunar month in Japan is called - month of chrysanthemums.
菊 (kiku) - this character in Japan means chrysanthemum. And they also have the sun. Therefore, we can say that there are two suns in Japan - one in the sky, the other on the earth).
On September 23 or 24, the Earth occupies a strictly vertical position relative to the Sun, which in turn crosses the Celestial Equator and moves from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern. At the same time, astronomical Autumn (in the north) and astronomical Spring (in the south) begin in these parts of the world. On this day, the length of day and night throughout the Earth is the same and equal to 12 hours.
秋分の日 (shubun no hi) - The autumn equinox is an official holiday in Japan., which has been celebrated since 1878.
The chrysanthemum is the official symbol of Japan.
One Japanese legend tells how the god of Heaven, Izanagi, decided to swim in a river on Earth. His jewelry, falling to the ground, turned into flowers: one bracelet into an iris, another into a lotus flower, and a necklace into a golden chrysanthemum.
Chrysanthemum in Japan is not only loved, but worshiped.
On the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, Japan celebrates the ancient Chrysanthemum Festival. People rode on “chrysanthemum boats,” drank “chrysanthemum wine,” admired the chrysanthemums blooming in the gardens, and composed songs and poems in their honor. “Chrysanthemum poems” were written on long strips of paper in ink with special care and attached to trees so that the wind would spread the glory of the beauty of chrysanthemums throughout the world...”
The chrysanthemum in Japan is a symbol of the sun and the favorite flower of the Solar Goddess Amaterasu, from whom the Japanese emperors descended.
The yellow or orange chrysanthemum with 16 petals has been a powerful symbol of the imperial house in Japan since the 12th century.
It was then that it was engraved on the blade of the emperor’s precious saber, and a little later on the imperial seal and clothes. In 1888, the “Order of the Chrysanthemum” was created, which during its entire existence was awarded to only three people. In 1910, the chrysanthemum was declared the national flower of Japan.
Japan does not have an official coat of arms, but the cover of the Japanese passport is decorated with a chrysanthemum.
Chrysanthemums are also depicted on Japanese coins. 
There is a specially bred vegetable chrysanthemum- Chrysanthemum coronarium L. Its leaves are similar to carrots - carved, openwork, light green in color. And the flowers are like chamomile - with white or yellow petals. 
Chrysanthemum flowers and leaves are wonderful food.
They have been used as food to improve health for several centuries and not only in Japan. It is known that chrysanthemum nourishes not only the body, but also the soul. These flowers resist the breath of autumn and the gray hairs of winter; they help a person survive harsh times, store and retain vitality.
Young leaves and flowers of the annual vegetable chrysanthemum, which contain many useful substances, are used as food. Young leaves are especially useful in early spring or late autumn. They eat chrysanthemum flowers and leaves little by little: this is quite enough to improve health.
The edible leaves of the vegetable chrysanthemum are called shungiku in Japan. They have an interesting pleasant smell and a spicy taste that decorates any dish (they are boiled for several minutes, squeezed out, finely chopped and served with seasoning). From fresh vegetable chrysanthemum leaves pre-boiled in salted water, you can prepare a delicious salad, seasoning for meat or fish, mashed potatoes and sandwiches. They add a piquant taste to omelettes and egg dishes. They can be dried, ground and used in dried form as a healthy and pleasant seasoning for food.
The petals have a wonderful smell and are mixed with tea, liqueurs and wines are infused with them. The Japanese have long had a custom of drinking an infusion of flowers, stems and leaves of chrysanthemums with rice water.
The soul rests and heals only by admiring flowers. Chrysanthemums are a symbol of joy and laughter. It is believed that chrysanthemums bring happiness, success, luck, and have the ability to ward off illness and misfortune. According to ancient tradition, a chrysanthemum petal is still placed at the bottom of a sake bowl to live a long and healthy life.
The Japanese believe that dew collected from chrysanthemums prolongs life. Japanese beauties wiped their faces with a cloth soaked in chrysanthemum dew to preserve youth and beauty.
For the Japanese, chrysanthemum is not only a magical flower of longevity and a harbinger of autumn. In autumn, it’s nice to look out the window, see crimson maples and eat a cup of soup with maple carrot leaves floating in it (*cutting carrots into maple leaf shapes reminds the cook of autumn).
In the Japanese city of Nihonmatsu, an exhibition of ningyo dolls made from living chrysanthemums is held in the fall. 
Several people traditionally work on the creation of one doll.
The image of the future doll is created by the artist-designer - Dogu-cho. The base of the doll's body (wooden frame), head, arms and feet of the doll are made by the puppeteer - Ningyo-shi. Next, the doll’s body is formed with bamboo dies and rice grass “He Who Covers the Body with Chrysanthemums” or Kiku-shi.
The flowers themselves for dolls are not cut, but dug up with the roots and the roots are carefully wrapped in damp moss. Inside, the doll is filled with roots and stems of plants, and on top it turns out to be dressed in hundreds of beautiful flowers.
Chrysanthemums. Flowers
The vernal equinox is the first spring holiday in Japan, which, surprisingly, the Japanese associate not with a unique astronomical phenomenon, but with the Buddhist ritual holiday of Higan, which goes back into the depths of history.
The legal day for the celebration was established in 1948. The exact date of the vernal equinox for the next year is determined by the National Observatory on February 1 of the current year, making appropriate celestial measurements and calculations.
According to the “Law on National Holidays,” the Vernal Equinox Day also has a corresponding “natural” meaning: “To extol nature, to cherish living beings.”
The Higan holiday, the customs of which fill the lives of the Japanese during these spring days, has an immeasurably longer history. The Buddhist concept of “higan” can be translated as “that shore” or “that world where our ancestors went and where their souls settled.”
The days of the spring Higan begin on March 17 and include the Vernal Equinox and three days after the Vernal Equinox. Before the start of Higan, the Japanese take special care to clean the house, especially the home altar with photographs and belongings of departed ancestors, refresh flowers and place ritual foods on the altar.
On Higana days, Japanese families go to worship the graves of their ancestors. After cleaning the family tomb, washing the stone slab and placing fresh flowers, the Japanese order prayers and perform other ritual honors.
Much of the Buddhist concept of Higan has acquired a special meaning in Japan, but the tradition of remembering ancestors has remained sacred to the Japanese for many centuries.
During Higana days, special attention is paid to food. Ritual dishes are prepared exclusively vegetarian - a reminder of the Buddhist prohibition to kill a living creature and eat the meat of the killed. The menu is made up of beans, vegetables, mushrooms, root vegetables, and the broths are also prepared on a plant basis. The table also includes festive “inari-sushi”, stuffed with a mixture of boiled rice, carrots, mushrooms and beans.
The traditional sweets of spring Higan are “bota-mochi”. Small rice balls (about the size of a chicken egg), coated with red bean paste boiled with sugar, are especially popular these days.
Many active Buddhist temples have kept special recipes for preparing bota-mochi for centuries and only during the spring Higan days they release a small batch for sale to everyone. Knowing the traditions well, the Japanese “hunt” and stand in line for the exquisite taste and unusual freshness of their favorite delicacy.
After the end of the days of spring Higan, the season of luxurious and indescribably beautiful cherry blossoms immediately comes. Another week - and the white and pink wave of cherry blossoms will no longer be able to be stopped. Both Japanese people, young and old, and foreigners living in Japan, and tourists coming from all over the world to look at the unforgettable picture, will noisily celebrate spring.
