Equinoxes and Mabon ~ Fall already?

This weekend everyone was talking about it being the first day of fall. Then they talked about their lovely weather.

Sigh.

Here in Arizona, we’re still hitting over 100 degrees during the day, but I’m (im)patiently waiting for cooler temps. Send em on over :)

In the pagan religion, the autumn equinox (the time of year when day and night are equal), is

September 21^st, and is the celebration of Mabon, or the first day of fall.

Mabon is named after a Welsh god who was stolen from his mom when he was barely three nights old. If you’re into Greek mythology, there are similarities between Mabon and Persephone, both being taken captive to the underworld during the autumn equinox, only to be rescued and allowed to come back during the spring equinox.

But the main theme of the holiday is that of thanksgiving. In older ages, this was the time of the fall harvest, and the gods were thanked for the bounty of food to see the village through the oncoming cold winter.

I love fall, we don’t get the pretty leave turning or even much of a transition here, but it does mean cooler weather :)

So my Q4U: What’s your favorite time of year and why?