Autumn Is Here!

The air has a slight tang to it, the trees are getting a bit of color to them, and the days of warm weather are limited.

Yep this is the time to get into studies about the September Equinox.

• How is it / was it observed
• What cultures venerated it
• What precisely is it
• What nifty facts can be turned up about it...

A little research on the net and I turned up the following useful (or useless depending on your perspective) facts about the September Equinox.

• In Iran it marks the beginning of Mehr or Libra – it's a festival of love – how nifty!
• Korea has a major harvest festival with a three day holiday celebrated at this time of year.
• In China the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th Lunar month... mostly found near the Fall Equinox and it is an official holiday in not only China, but many countries that have a significant Chinese population. Remember though this is the Lunar Calendar we're talking about so it could be any time from Sept to October...
• In the UK the traditional harvest festival was celebrated on the Sunday of the full moon closest to the Fall Equinox.
• In the French Republican Calendar – in use from 1793 to 1805 the calendar year began...

These are just a few facts I could find in a quick Google search. What do you think you and your first grader could turn up at the local public library?