Is there a significance to the autumnal equinox?

Question

From a folklore standpoint, tell me what you know.

Answer 1

It's "Wiccan Thanksgiving" don't really know why they named it Mabon after the boy who was lost by his mother Mohdron...the story of Mabon (the boy) is detailed in the welsh folktale "The Mabonigian" I guess ol G.B. Gardner was mixing & matching and it sounded about right to him...Which is fine with me because I love turkey...for me it is another reason to pop a turkey in the oven & have a feast with my family & friends. It is a harvest celebration.

Answer 2

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/7280/harvest.html

Harvest Home
By Mike Nichols

Excerpt:

Despite the bad publicity generated by Thomas Tryon’s novel, Harvest Home is the pleasantest of holidays. Admittedly, it does involve the concept of sacrifice, but one that is symbolic only. The sacrifice is that of the spirit of vegetation, John Barleycorn. Occurring one quarter of the year after Midsummer, Harvest Home represents midautumn, autumn’s height. It is also the autumnal equinox, one of the quarter days of the year, a Lesser Sabbat and a Low Holiday in modern Witchcraft. Recently, some Pagan groups have begun calling the holiday by the Welsh name ‘Mabon’, although there seems little historical justification for doing so.

Technically, an equinox is an astronomical point and, due to the fact that our leap-year cycle causes dates to slip and then snap back into place, the date may vary by a few days depending on the year. The autumnal equinox occurs when the sun crosses the equator on its apparent journey southward, and we experience a day and a night that are of equal duration. Up until Harvest Home, the hours of daylight have been greater than the hours from dusk to dawn. But from now on, the reverse holds true. Astrologers know this as the date on which the sun enters the sign of Libra, the Scales (an appropriate symbol of a balanced day and night).

Answer 3

In folklore, not too much, besides harvest celebrations. The equinoxes are generally celebrations simply because it is, from the viewpoint of people on earth, the same as a solstice; however, they don't have the longest day/shortest day significances that solstices do. However, they look like solstices from here, and do strike a balancing sort of area.

Answer 4

Check out http://witchvox.com; there are a lot of articles about the equinox and other solar holidays.

Answer 5

Yes, it's Mabon. I was going to give you a diatribe, but will leave you with a good link instead. Blessed Be.
http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usma&c=holidays&id=3623

Answer 6

it's Mabon.