Earth Centered Holidays

The trouble with Earth-centered holidays is that you can't make them happen on Monday. And even if you could, for some reason they still wouldn't get the recongition that Columbus Day and Memorial Day do. They happen, in their own time, whether anyone's paying attention or not and I'm happy that this one is on a Monday and I don't have to go to the office.


Today is Autumnal Equinox. At 15:44 GMT (or 11:44 EDT) the earth is at a point in its journey around the sun where it is not tilted toward or away from the sun. Everywhere on the earth today will have roughly twelve hours of daylight and twelve hours of darkness. In that one respect, we're all equal today. I think that's worth celebrating.

Leaving my office near sunset last week, I noticed the sun coming straight in the west facing atrium window, all the way down the east-west hallway to the east facing back door. The United States is such a young country that many streets and roads laid out due east and west or north and south. Consequently, many buildings facing the road are mini-temples to the rising and setting sun.

Autumn Equinox means the busy summer season is drawing to a close and we're headed toward the shorter days of the season of rest and reflection. If you've been growing things, you'll now be celebrating the harvest, as I was yesterday.

I get a sort of mini spring cleaning drive this time of year. The housecleaning I haven't had time for all summer is glaring. There's plenty of outdoor clean-up to finish. Oh, my. It's time to get at it.