Analysis: The Autumn Equinox and the festival of Michaelmas on September 29th mark the coming of the closure of the year
Twice a year, an equinox occurs when the sun appears to rise exactly in the east and set exactly in the west. At this moment, day and night are of roughly equal length. This event marks a brief period of ‘balance’ between daylight and darkness in both the spring and autumn. During the September equinox, it moves from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere. The Autumn Equinoxoccurs in Ireland this year today at 7.18pm.
One would imagine that such a notable celestial event, linked with the shortening of days and cooler weather as autumn gathers apace would be important enough to be marked on the calendar. The so-called Celtic calendar contains the seasons of Imbolc, Bealtaine, Lughnasa and Samhain, the festivities of which were dominated by agricultural custom.
The traditional Irish calendar uses this as its basis and is additionally peppered with timely events approximately every six weeks. Some of these are Christian (Easter and Christmas) which gave occasion for rest and celebratory feasting, and most importantly prompted people to pause to reflect.
While the equinoxes were not specifically celebrated by name the spring equinox is close to St Patrick’s Day and the autumn equinox is close to Michaelmas. Whether these two calendar markers are remnants of more ancient equinox celebration is up for debate. Prehistoric people in Ireland demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of astronomy, as evidenced in the monuments they left us with. Some passage tombs have possible equinoctial alignments, including Cairn T at Loughcrew, with some debate as to whether Knowth is similarly aligned.
There is a strong correlation between the autumn equinox and the festival of Michaelmas, a Christian feast day celebrated on September 29th, just a few days after the astronomical event of the equinox, which marks the beginning of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Michaelmas was also a day that heralded, most appropriately for RTE Brainstorm writers, the beginning of the academic year.
Until the early 20th century, the Feast Day of Michael and All Angels, also known as St. Michael’s Day or Michaelmas, was once regarded as a highly significant day in the Irish calendar. Indeed, people wished each other a happy Michaelmas day: “may Michaelmas féinín on you.”
The day fell in the middle of the busy harvest season of Lughnasa and gave labourers a welcome break from agricultural work. In the past, the cycle of the agricultural year through the seasons was interspersed with annual fixed festivals and quarter days, such as Michaelmas, which were chief markers in this sequence of the year and were respected and observed.
Traditionally, on this day, debts were paid, leases started, servants were hired and rent payments were due. In addition, Michaelmas was a time to arrange or settle contracts, a day to conduct legal transactions, to elect mayors in some localities and to signal the beginning of the hunting season and the end of the fishing season.
Foods
A notable part of the festival of Michaelmas was the consumption of a festival foods containing fruits of the harvest, notably geese. Although the association of geese with Michaelmas is found in other countries, it is said to arise in Ireland from a legend about the son of an Irish king that choked on a goose bone he had eaten. He was restored to life by St. Patrick and the grateful king ordered that every Michaelmas a goose be sacrificed in that saint’s honour.
According to custom, the harvest had to be finished by Michaelmas. Geese, having been hatched in the spring, were let out to feed on the stubble in the fields after the harvest. They were well fattened by the time of Michaelmas and deemed to be at their finest. Thus, Michaelmas became also known as Goose Harvest, and traditionally the “Michaelmas goose” was roasted and eaten on the that day. Some people offered killed and plucked geese as gifts to friends, while others distributed them to the poor, so that all could partake in this important custom. “On Michaelmas night by right divine/The goose is chosen to be the swine”
In some parts of the country, sheep were slaughtered and the meat divided amongst poor and known as St. Michael’s portion. Other foods from the harvest were enjoyed, such as freshly picked apples and the last of the season’s blackberries, with Michaelmas viewed as the point when blackberries were no longer at their peak.
According to a legend, the devil was defeated by St. Michael and landed in a blackberry bush when he fell from the sky, he. Out of spite, he defiled the fruit as an act of revenge. A similar Irish legend claims the malicious púca, a shape-shifting spirit, was responsible for soiling the blackberries. Regardless of the version, children were told not to eat them after Michaelmas. In some places fairs and poultry markets were held, and at some, for the occasion of Michaelmas, mutton pies were sold at them.
St. Michael himself is believed to have fought against Satan, the saint is often depicted in art with a sword. He is regarded as and considered a champion of justice and the protector of the Church. Some baby boys born around the time of Michaelmas were called Michael or Micheál in the saint’s honour. Other traditions included daisy-chain making by children, made from the profusion of late flowering asters, known as Michaelmas daisies, a popular staple of Irish cottage gardens.
As was the case at festival dates throughout the year, there was some weather divination. The rural Irish farmer anxiously watched out at this time for signs to come and it was said that if “Michaelmas Day be bright and clear there will be two ‘winter’s’ in the year”. Pilgrimages were undertaken to holy wells associated with St. Michael on the day and pilgrims would finish their rounds by sipping the well water.
In modern times, the changing of the seasons has become a simple turn of the calendar page, and we often don’t give it a second thought. Our ancestors, though, marked the year with anticipated, timely festivals, but these have been largely forgotten. Despite this, we can still look to the old calendar, not only to reflect on our traditions but also to pause and reflect at times on our personal year. We can ponder have we achieved and what is coming next, and hopefully appreciate the fleeting nature of our time in the universe. The Autumn Equinox, and the Michaelmas, which both mark coming into the closure of the year, is a good time to do this.
