On September 22-23 northern hemisphere countries celebrate Mabon, the autumnal equinox. No matter what the country is, everywhere the traditions on this day are the same: gathering berries, storing up herbs, commemorating all women of the kin. On this day people traditionally go up the hill, to be closer to the sun, because the days become shorter, and the nights become longer.
All the nations of the Northern Hemisphere consider Mabon the first day of mellow autumn. Many people on this day go to the forest to gather some fallen leaves, branches, seeds, and stay on their own.
I think under current circumstances every one of us needs such a relaxation. Apart from objective reasons, which are shaking the country, there are hidden reasons: modern pace of life and thinking which lies in distorted understanding of happiness. We all perceive life as something that is lying from yesterday to tomorrow. We worry and think over the past, create plans for the future, often forgetting about present day. To some extent we have forgotten how to live in present moment, constantly peeping into the future.
So, may the ancient feast of the Mabon become an occasion to change the focus of looking at the world at least for a moment, look around and feel life between yesterday and tomorrow.
