"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 19th, is known as the Harvest Moon.
Shine on, shine on Harvest
Moon, up in the sky…
Autumn arrives at 4:44 pm on
September 22nd with the equinox.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
September is dedicated to The Seven Sorrows of Mary
Ember Days: September 18, 20, and 21
Liturgical Celebrations
3 St. Gregory the
Great, Pope
8 Nativity of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
9 St. Peter
Claver
12 Most Holy Name of Mary (Sunday within the Octave, Old
Calendar)
13 St. John Chrysostom
14 Exaltation of the Holy Cross
15 Our Lady of Sorrows (3rd Sunday in September, Old
Calendar)
16 Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian
17 St. Robert Bellarmine
18 St. Joseph of Cupertino
19 St. Januarius
20 St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon and companions, martyrs
21 St. Matthew, Apostle
23 St. Pio of Pietrelcina
24 Our Lady of Ransom
26 Sts. Cosmas and Damian (25th in Canada)
26 Sts. John de Brebeuf and Isaac Jogues, martyrs (Canada)
27 St. Vincent de Paul
28 St. Wenceslaus
29 St. Michael, Archangel
30 St. Jerome
Novenas for September
Maria Bambina continues
from 30 August
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: Cool, with bright sunshine and
clear skies.
Based on the first 12 days
of January: Mostly cloudy and warm.
Based on the Ember Days: Overcast and chilly.
Maybe a little of each?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
9/18 – Ember Day. The weather today indicates the weather
of October.
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 – Ember Day. The weather today indicates the weather
of November.
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.
Ember Day. The weather
today indicates the weather of December.
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 24 days old on Michaelmas.
Might want to consider building an ark.]
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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. Limbourg frères. Grandes Heures
of Jean, Duc de Berry, Fifteenth century.
The calendar pages of the Grandes Heures carried more religious
symbolism than that of the more famous Très
Riches Heures. Each month was dedicated to a part of
the Apostles Creed, with the relevant prophecy from the Old Testament and
scripture from the New Testament.
September is dedicated to the article of the Creed which says “…I
believe…in the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints…”. Here we see (left to right) Saint Paul
instructing a group of women (the caption above says “Thymotheus”, so young
Timothy may be somewhere in that group) from Colossians 1:18: “And he is the
head of the body, the church…”. Our
Lady stands above the battlements of the New Jerusalem, holding a banner with a
depiction of the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove [once again, the artists are behind by a month, and will be for the rest
of the year]. Beneath the arc
of heaven where the sun continues its decline, a fashionable young woman holds
the scales of Libra, astrological symbol of September, and contemplates the
grape-laden vines, now ready for harvesting.
Adriaen Isanbrandt, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, 16th
century. Church of Our Lady,
Bruges. Wikipedia
September. Limbourg frères. Grandes Heures
of Jean, Duc de Berry, Fifteenth century.
Depicted at the bottom of
the calendar pages in the Grandes Heures
is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament by the
articles of the Apostles Creed. In
each, a prophet (cloaked to show the obscurity of prophecy) takes a stone out
of the building representing the Old Law and offers it to an apostle, who, by
raising the cloak ‘uncovers’ the prophecy with an article of faith. Here, the Prophet Micah holds a
banderole with the words “…that all may call upon the name of the Lord, and may
serve him...” (Zephaniah 3:9),
while behind him, the ruined walls of the Old Law totter precariously;
meanwhile St. Matthew the Apostle (whose feast occurs this month) presents the
relevant part of the Apostle’s Creed, “…the Holy Catholic Church, the Communion
of Saints…”
September. Hunting – Pasturing Swine. Engraving based on an 11th
century manuscript. William Walsh, Curiosities
of Popular Customs (1898), p. 874
