FACTS
ABOUT THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER.
Gemstone;
Sapphire.
Flower; Aster.
The
name of September
comes from the Roman word 'septum'
which
means seven. In the old Roman calendar it was the seventh month of
the year.
The
Anglo – Saxon name
of this month was 'Gerst
monath'
( Barley Month ), as it was during this month that they harvested the barley that they used to make their favourite drink ( Barley brew )
similar to todays beer. It was also called 'Haefest
month',
or Harvest month.
The
Romans thought that this month was looked after by one of the Gods,
Vulcan
the God of fire and they expected September to be a month of fires
and volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
 |
| VulcanThe God Of Fire. |
The
Julian Calendar.
Until
the year of 1752, this was the calendar that we used in Britain. It
was based on the 'Solar
year'
the length of time it took for the Earth to rotate around the Sun. It
was however found to be less accurate than the 'Gregorian
Calendar',
so it was decided to change over to this new system.
The
Gregorian Calendar.
This
is the calendar mostly used now. It was named after 'Pope
Gregory X111' who
introduced it in 1582. There is a leap year every forth year. The
calendar corresponds closely to the 'Astronomical'
year which has 365.24219 days so it is just one day out every 3,300
years, where as the 'Julian
calendar'
is 365.25 days long which is a fraction longer, so over time it fell
out of line with the seasons. So in 1752 Britain decided to correct
this by changing from the 'Julian
Calendar' to
the 'Gregorian
Calendar' but
in doing so we lost 11
days
as the 3rd
of September that year (1752 )
became the 14th
of September.
This caused mayhem with the population of Britain and they took to
the streets in protest crying out “ Give
us back our 11 days!
' as they thought that their lives had been shortened by the 11 days
removed from the month. Also there is nothing recorded in history for
those missing days between the 3rd
& 13th
of September in 1752.
 |
| Pope Gregory X111. |
Harvest
Festival.
Traditionally
the harvest festival took place after the harvesting of the corn
which began on the 24th
of September in Medieval Times.
When
all the corn was being gathered in, the celebrations began and one of
those was called “The
Calling of the Mare”.
As the last of the harvest was being cut the farmers raced to beat
their neighbours so as not to be the last to gather in their corn and
to prove that they had the best reapers. As the last sheaf of corn
was cut it would be used to make the rough shape of a 'Mare'
which was quickly sent round to the next farmer who had not completed
their harvest. The reason being, to say that wild horses would get his
corn if he did not get it in quickly. The farmer would run round to
the farm next door and throw the Mare
over the hedge into the field where the neighbouring farmer was
working and then shout Mare,
Mare
and run off.
The
farmer, who received the mare would then work harder to try and beat
his neighbour so he could pass the mare on to him. The last farmer to
gather in his corn and finish the harvest would then have to keep the
mare all year on display for all to see so that everyone knew he had
been the last farmer of the year to get in his harvest.
 |
Harvest Time.
(The Modern Reaper.) |
What
is the Harvest Festival.
The
Harvest Festival is to celebrate the gathering of all the food from
the land. In Britain we have celebrated the harvest festival since
pagan times for the successful harvest of our crops. We do this by
singing, praying and decorating our churches with fruits, flowers and
crops to give thanks, this is the 'Harvest
Festival'.
 |
| Harvest Festival. |
Corn
Dollies.
The
corn dolly was supposed to represent the spirit of the Corn
Goddess that lived in the corn and it dates back over hundreds
of years. We believed that the corn goddess would die when all the corn was cut unless some of it was
saved. To keep the corn goddess alive until the sowing of the new
seed next spring, a corn dolly was made from the last sheaf of corn
from the harvest for her to rest in.
The
making of corn dollies has now become a popular hobby at arts and
craft centres all over the country. The styles and designs of many
corn dollies vary in different areas.
Michaelmas
Day.
The
feast of
'Saint Michael' the
Archangel
is celebrated on the 29
th of September. He is the patron
saint of the sea, ships and boatmen, of horses and horsemen and of
all travellers. He was the Angel who hurled
'Lucifer
'(
the devil ) down from heaven
for his treachery. Michaelmas also used to be the night when the
winter curfew began, the first indication that winter was on it's
way.
 |
Saint Michael Defeats
The Devil Before He Was Thrown Out Of Heaven. |
The
Curfew.
The
Curfew took the form of the tolling of the church bells, one
strike for each of the days of the month that had passed by in the
current year and normally began at the stroke of 9pm. Chertsey
is one of the last places that continues this practise.
Goose
Day.
This
was another name for Michaelmas day and was when the
Goose
Fairs were held. One of the most famous of these is the
'Nottingham Goose Fair' which is still
held every year. Traditionally these fairs were held across the
country and farmers would take their Geese to the fair, which was
also a market. Goose was eaten on Michaelmas day. It became a custom
to eat Goose on that day as this was the day when
Queen
Elizabeth 1st' was
eating one, when she received the news that the
Spanish
Armada had been defeated. In celebration of this, she said
that from this day henceforth she would always eat goose on
Michaelmas Day.
Rides at the Goose Fair.
Quarter
Day.
Michaelmas
day was also a 'Quarter
Day', the day when rents were due and
all bills had to be paid. Tenants often struggled to find the money
to pay their dues, so to seek the indulgence of their landlord they
would often present a big fat goose as part payment or to gain a
little more time to find the money to pay their bills.
Mop Fairs.
'The Mop Fair'
was another day when traditionally every year farm workers along with
all their tools, would go to the nearest 'Market
Town' where there was a mop fair being
held, to offer their services for hire for the following year. A Mop
Fair always took place the day after Michaelmas
Day.
Weather
Lore, Beliefs and Sayings.
The Michaelmas Daises,
among dede weeds,
Bloom
for St. Michael's valorous deeds.
And
seems the last of flowers that stood,
Till
the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude.
(
The feast of St. Michael and St. Jude is on the 28th
of October. )
Eat
a goose on Michaels Day,
And
want not for money all the year.
He
who eats goose on Michaelmas Day,
Shan't
money lack or hath debts to pay.
If St. Michael brings many Acorns, Christmas will cover
the fields with snow.
A dark Michaelmas, a
light Christmas.
Some
of our Grand Parents may remember being told as a child not to pick
the fruits of the 'Blackberry' bush
after Michaelmas.
The reason for this was that on St.
Michael's Feast Day when the Devil
was kicked out of heaven he landed in a 'Bramble
bush' and so it is said that he cursed
it by scorching it with his fiery breath, stamping on it with his
feet then spitting on it and therefore generally making the fruits of
the Bramble
bush unfit
to eat. Legend says that he renews his curse every year on Michaelmas
Day.
The
'Victorians' believed that Michaelmas
day was the best day of the year to plant a tree, as they always grew
better when planted on this day.
Festivals
and Traditions.
A
game played by children at this time of the year is
'Conkers'. The fruit of the 'Horse
Chestnut Tree' sheds its nuts at this
time of the year. Traditionally children would gather the nuts to
play the game of conkers. On finding your first conker of the season,
you were supposed to recite the following verse; “Oddly,
oddly onker you are my first conker'.
This would ensure when playing the game, you had good fortune and
therefore had less tangles.
In
Staffordshire in the village of Abbots
Bromley every year, on the first
Monday after the 4th
of September,
they perform the old custom of having a Horn
Dance. This custom goes back over 800
years. It involves two teams of dancers accompanied by their
followers; Maid Marion, Robin Hood,
a Fool and a man on a Hobby Horse.
This old pagan custom involves two teams of dancers carrying some
very old horns ( antlers
) from the heads of some deer, one set painted white the other
painted blue. Each team dances towards the other as if to fight, they
then go backwards and then move forwards again as if they are to lock
their horns together, similar to two stags ( male
deer ) behaviour during the Rut
( the mating season
). The dance lasts all day long as they travel around the village
playing music and performing the dance at surrounding farms and the
village pubs. The distance they cover is around ten miles.
Abbots Bromley Horn Dancers.
Anniversaries.
2-6thof
September in 1666
was when The
Great Fire of London took
place.
3rd
of September 1939 The Second World War
began ending on 15th
of August 1945.
7th
of September Queen Elizabeth 1
was born.
9th
of September 1087 William the Conqueror died.
26th
of September Sir Francis Drake
returned to Plymouth in
his ship The Golden Hind,
becoming the first British navigator
to sail around the world.
29th
of September Michaelmas Day.
30th
of September Alexander Fleming
discovered Penicillin.
Look
Out For Next Months Facts.
