Next him September marched
eke on foot;
Yet was he heavy laden with
the spoil
Of harvest’s riches, which
he made his boot,
And him enriched with bounty
of the soil;
In his one hand, as fit for
harvest’s toil,
He held a knife-hook’ and in
th’other hand
A pair of weights, with
which he did assoil
Both more and less, where it
in doubt did stand,
And equal gave to each as
justice duly scanned.
Spenser
"The name comes from
the Latin septimus, "seventh,"
because under the ten-month calendar, and afterwards under the reckoning which
made March the beginning of the year, September was the seventh month. After
July and August (originally Quintilis, "fifth," and Sextilis,
"sixth") had been so named in honor of Julius Caesar and Augustus,
several Roman Emperors sought to give their names to September, but in this
case the innovation did not survive. Julius Caesar gave September
thirty-one days in his revision of the calendar, but it was subsequently
reduced to thirty days by Augustus, who changed the length of all the months
after August in order to give his titular month the same length as July."
"The Saxons called
September Gerstmonath, or
Barley-Month, this crop, from which their favorite beverage was brewed, being
then gathered. It is still called Herbstmonat,
or Harvest Month, in Switzerland. The harvest-moon comes in this month,
being the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox. For several evenings
the moon rises near sunset, thus enabling the harvesters to extend their day's
work." William Shepard Walsh, Curiosities
of Popular Customs, p. 873 (1898).
Marry in
September's shine
Your living will
be rich and fine.
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Astronomy for September: The full moon this month,
on the 29th, is known as the Harvest Moon.
Shine on, shine on Harvest
Moon, up in the sky…
Autumn arrives at 10:49 am
on September 22nd with the equinox.
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Ember Days: September 19, 21, and 22
Novenas for September
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
begins 5 September
Vincent de Paul
begins
18 September
Michael the Archangel
begins 20 September
Holy Angels
begins 20 September
Thérèse of Lisieux
begins 22 September
Francis of Assisi
begins 25 September
Faustina Kowalska
begins 26 September
Our Lady of the Rosary
begins 28 September
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Weather for September
Based on the 12 Days of
Christmas: Clear skies and high winds.
Based on the first 12 days
of January: Sunny and chilly, with some
stiff breezes.
Based on the Ember Days: Rain.
Rainy in the morning, rainy in the evening, rainy at suppertime…
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Weather Lore for September
September blow soft,
‘Til the fruit's in the
loft.
As September, so the coming
March.
When September has been
rainy, the following May is generally dry; and when May is dry, the following
September is apt to be wet.
A wet September means
drought for next summer, famine, and no crops.
and
Heavy September rains bring
drought.
on the other hand
Rain in September is good
for the farmer, but poison to the vine-growers.
and
September rain is good for
crops and vines and much liked by the farmer.
[I think it depends on how much and how heavy the rain]
If the storms of September
clear off warm, all the storms of the following winter will be warm.
If a cold spell occurs in
September and passes without a frost, there will be no frost until the same
time in October.
Thunder in September
indicates a good crop of grain and fruit for the next year.
Thunder in September means
snow in February and March and a large crop of grapes.
There are generally three
consecutive windy days about the middle of September.
9/1 - Fair on September 1st,
fair for the month
9/6 - As the weather is on
the 6th, so it will be for the next four weeks.
9/8 - As the weather is n
the day of Mary's birth, so it will be for four weeks.
9/9 - If it is fine on St.
Gorgonius' day, it will continue fine for forty days.
If it rains on St. Gorgonius' day, there will be much bad weather in October.
9/14 - No rain on Holy
Cross, no rain for six weeks [which is a
good thing while we are still harvesting]
If dry be the buck's horn on Holyrood morn,
'Tis worth a kist [chest] of gold;
But if wet be seen ere Holyrood e'en,
Bad harvest is foretold.
If the hart and the hind meet dry and part dry on Rood Day fair,
For six weeks, of rain there'll be nae mair [no more].
There are generally three consecutive windy days about the middle of September.
9/15 - September 15th is
fine six years out of seven.
9/19 - If on September 19th,
there is a storm from the south, a mild winter may be expected.
[If on September 19th, there is a storm from the south, it is liable to
be a hurricane]
9/20-22 - September 20, 21,
and 22 rule the weather for October, November, and December.
9/21 - St. Matthew's day
bright and clear
Brings good wine in the next year.
St. Matthew
Brings the cold dew.
On St. Matthee,
Shut up the bee.
After St. Matthew you will not see many fine days.
A south wind on September 21st indicates that the rest of autumn
will be warm.
9/22 - If there is clear
weather on St. Maurice's day, heavy winds will rage in the following winter.
The
first three days of any season rule the weather for that season.
As the wind and weather at the equinoxes, so will they be for the
next three months.
If the weather is quiet for the week before the autumn equinox
and the week after, the temperature will continue higher than usual into the
winter.
As the equinoctial storms clear, so will all storms clear for the next six
months.
Winds that blow in the daytime near the equinox generally hush towards evening.
9/29 - On Michaelmas day,
the heat leaves us.
If St. Michael brings many acorns, Christmas will cover the fields with snow.
At
Michaelmas, if the wind be low
Look
out for frost, if not for snow.
A dark Michaelmas, a light Christmas.
If it rains on Michaelmas, it will rain up to Christmas.
As many days old as the moon is on Michaelmas day, so many floods
shall we have after. [This year, the moon
will be 15 days old on Michaelmas.
That’s an awful lot of floods.]
If Michaelmas day be fair, the sun will shine much in the winter,
though the wind at the northeast will frequently reign long and be very sharp.
If there is a gentle rain on St. Michael's day, we can
expect a mild winter; but if there is a thunderstorm, the winter will have
heavy winds.
St. Michael’s rain does not stay long in the sky.
If it does not rain on St. Michael and on St. Gallus (October
16), a dry Spring is indicated for the next year.
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Farming and Gardening:
The Passion Flower long has
blowed
To betoken us signs of the
Holy Rood (Sep
14)
The Michaelmas Daisy, among
dead weeds
Blooms for St. Michael’s
valorous deeds.
(Sep 29)
September rain is good for
the crops.
Preserve your fodder in
September and your cow will fatten.
9/1 - St. Giles finishes the
walnuts.
9/14 - It was traditional to
go nutting today.
On
Holy Cross Day
Vineyards are gay.
9/21 – St. Matthew’s rain
fattens pigs and goats.
9/29 - Pick your
blackberries before Michaelmas. The Devil passes his hoof over them (or does
something nastier) and scorches them today.
Cassell’s
Illustrated almanac 1871 for September:
Flowers.—Sow hardy annuals, for bloom in the following year. Clarkias,
nemophilas, gilias, &c., are well suited for this purpose. Collect and dry
your flower seeds, labeling them, when necessary, with height of the plants and
color of the flowers. Look to your edgings of box, &c., which may now be
repaired or replaced. Begin the planting of snowdrops, narcissus, &c.
Vegetables.—Hoe weeds from all parts of the
vegetable garden. Thin out turnips, winter spinach, and all crops that are sufficiently
forward. Gather articles for pickling and preserving, and remove all kinds of
decaying or useless vegetation. Take up potatoes, and store away those intended
for seed, first drying them in the sun.
Fruit.— Strawberry runners may still be planted. Old raspberry canes should be
cat down, leaving only the new wood. Cut back gross shoots from wall-fruit
trees of all kinds. To tell whether fruit is thoroughly ripe for picking, raise
it gently with the hand, when the stalk will leave the tree at once if it is in
fit condition.
The 1817 Almanac advises the
farmer to “Plant Liquorice Roots about two Feet asunder, in rather moist
Earth. Set Artichokes, and sow
Seeds for Winter Herbs. Sow Wheat
and Rye. Cut Quicks towards the
End of the Month. Plant Evergreens.
Sow Parsnips and Carrots in
a free open Air, and rather most Soil.
Remove and set Slips of
Flowers. Set Rows of Strawberries
and Barberries.
Gather Fruits as they ripen,
on a dry Day, and lay them up carefully.
Prepare Ground for planting.”
====================================================
ARTWORK
September. Engraving by Samuel Williams. William Hone, The Everyday Book and Table Book, (1838), p. 1146
September. Hunting – Pasturing Swine. Engraving based on an 11th
century manuscript. William Walsh, Curiosities
of Popular Customs (1898), p. 874
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