Celebrating the Harvest and Ancestors – Fall Equinox

Happy Fall Equinox, everyone!  Welcome to Fall 2019.  As we move from summer to fall and rapidly towards winter, it is a great time for slowing down and celebrating the harvest and ancestors!  Julie and I had a chance to do just that this weekend and on Monday, the actual day of the Fall Equinox.

In case you don’t know what the Fall Equinox is, it is the time of  year when there are equal hours in the day of daylight and night.  As we move forward in our orbit around the sun, our hemisphere is tilted away from the sun.  That means less daylight hours and colder temperatures (winter).  We will continue on this journey until we get to Winter Solstice on December 21st.  At that point, we will have the least amount of daylight in the year, and we will begin our journey towards spring and rebirth. More on that….later.

On Friday, I posted a News from Around the Bend: Happy Equinox Edition.  In my life, I really had not paid much attention to the equinoxes and solstices, but this year I am (starting this fall).  As a gardener, it is important to understand the seasons, the position of the sun in the sky and the hours of daylight available to grow food.  Our ancestors were more tied to the land and understood these things, and I am going to be paying more attention as I try to get closer to the land and improve my gardening skills.

There is a spiritual aspect to all of this, particularly for the Lantern Lighting Event.  I typically do not talk politics or religous beliefs here in Small Scale Life, but there was a powerful spiritual element to that ceremony if you are open to that kind of thing.

In a way, I was giving my dad a symbolic Viking burial that connects him to his Northern European heritage.  As a modern day gladiator (NFL Football Player), I think he would have approved.  In the tradition of the Astaru and Vikings, I quietly hummed the Viking funeral song “Helvegen” and declared as I launched his lantern:

Hail!  Hail our People!  Hail our Folk!

Many ancient religions from around the world believe that our departed ancestors are not gone.  They are with us, part of us.  Death is simply a thin veil, not a impenetrable wall.  In other words: do not worry; you are not alone.  Your ancestors are with you.  It is an interesting concept to meditate upon in these darkening days as we travel towards winter.

Happy Harvest, everyone!  Enjoy the Fall colors, spend time with family and friends and prepare for winter.  As they say on Game of Thrones:

“Winter is coming!”

Pepare accordingly while the sun is still high in the sky.

Topics – Celebrating the Harvest and Ancestors

Lanterns floating across Jo Pond at the Lakewood Cemetery – September 2019

In this episode, I discuss a celebrating the harvest and our ancestors in a great Fall Equinox weekend.  Topics included:

• Danny and David’s Toughest Mudder Race in Dallas, TX;
• Exploring River Falls, WI;
• Canning and preserving the harvest from my garden;
• A very special and powerful lantern lighting ceremony at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN;
• Celebrating the Fall Equinox with a “Domres Special” Dinner;
• Happy Half Hour – Being Positive and Inspiring you to Learn, Do, Grow and Be a Little Better Everyday;
• Canning and Preservation Links on Small Scale Life;
• What’s coming next on Small Scale Life!