This past Sunday, we celebrated Mabon - a harvest celebration. Mabon is traditionally a Pagan holiday, although I’d say it now falls under the more modern categorical moniker “Secular Holiday” (which is a bit of an oxymoron), to celebrate the Autumnal Equinox.

The Fall / Autumnal Equinox is the day when the amount of daylight and night-time are equal in duration. Most people know it more commonly as “the first day of fall,” if you go by the “Astronomical” scale rather than the Meteorogical scale.

It’s a point of transition — Summer ends, Autumn begins. Most plants begin to wilt, tree-leaves start to change, the air gets a bit chillier and takes on a drier, more musty-smelling flavor.

Our family (Melissa & I, and now Sullivan) have celebrated Mabon for the past three years now. We don’t do it in the “true” pagan tradition (We don’t get into the whole “Oak King” or mythological aspects of it); Rather we see it as more of a symbolic date for the passage of time. Sort of a sign-post that you pass as the year progresses.

This year, we hung up some really nice decorations that have an autumn flair: Melissa made some two-toned orange flags that we hung around the living room, and she bought some wreaths, wheat, Indian corn, and gourds which we made into decorative wreaths / wall-hangings and cornucopia.

We went to Wesler’s Orchard to buy a pumpkin, get some Apple Cider, and apples to make Apple butter. Sullivan got to pet some goats, play in pumpkins, and experience cider for the first time (he LOVES it — then again, what kid doesn’t?). For dinner, we had chickpea cutlets, corn on the cob, and apple cider. Delicious!

Mabon is a holiday we decided to celebrate because, as a secular family, we realize that we need to establish our own traditions. The astronomical events (Equinoxes / Solstices) are obvious choices for traditional celebrations, so Mel and I have been brainstorming ways we can celebrate these events. For Mabon, we both agreed that we needed to decorate the house (or at least the living room and front door).

But how do you really capture the essence of the changing season? I had been toying with the idea of wearing greenish clothing in the morning and changing to browns and oranges in the evening (to visually symbolize the change), but I think Melissa had a much better idea, something that we can do with Sullivan when he’s a little older.

She suggested that on Mabon we should reflect on our favorite moments from the past summer — perhaps draw some pictures of what we really enjoyed, and just share stories. I think this is a terrific idea. The reflection allows us to momentarily re-live our fun Summer experiences, and the superlative, searching for the “best moments”, carries the implication that Summer has ended. It allows us to take a moment to get closure on the passing season, and prepare for the next. To me, this is precisely what holidays should do.

Other Secular Holidays that we celebrate are Winter Solstice (Dec 22), Spring Equinox (mid-March), and Summer Solstice (mid-June). We’re still developing our traditions for these holidays. Winter Solstice is kind of an easy one, given that most people’s Christmas traditions have secular roots. The celebrations are generally rooted in Natural events, rather than mythological ones.

Happy Mabon!

Tags: celebration, holidays, mabon
Categories: Friends, Family & Pets, Secular Life