The September full moon, sometimes called the Harvest Moon, the Corn Moon, or the Barley Moon falls on the 2nd of the month, and the new moon falls on the 17th. Both occurrences mark auspicious days in several faith traditions. And, of course, September 22nd marks the fall equinox (for the northern hemisphere).
The High Holy Days in the Jewish tradition usually constitute the biggest news in September. This year, both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur fall in September. Sukkot will happen in October. Here’s a run-down of what to expect.
Rosh Hashanah (sunset Sept. 18-nightfall Sept. 20): Rosh Hashanah literally means “head of the year,” more commonly known as the Jewish New Year. The biblical name, Yom Teruah, means “day of shouting/blasting,” and one of the coolest things about Rosh Hashanah is hearing the shofar blasts. This year will be 5781 in the Jewish calendar.
Yom Kippur (sunset Sept. 27-nightfall Sept. 28): This Jewish Day of Atonement is marked with a 25-hour fast (which is not easy). The Kol Nidre {coal knee-druh}, the prayer said at the first evening service, is actually in Aramaic (not Hebrew). And the service is called the Kol Nidrei.
Sikh Gurpurab (September 16): One of the fixed holy days in the Sikh tradition is the second day of Asu, which falls in mid-September. There are 10 human gurus in the Sikh tradition. This holy day honors the death of the 3rd Guru (Amar Das), the installation of the 4th Guru (Ram Das), the death of that guru, and the installation of the 5th Guru (Arjan).
Birth of Rumi (Sept. 30): Rumi was a 13th century Persian poet, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Historians aren’t quite sure where Rumi was born, but they seem to know exactly when he was born: September 30, 1207.
Special Note: It’s notoriously difficult to create interfaith calendars because so many different methods of tracking time are used throughout the world. However, one popular on-line interfaith calendar lists the date for a major Jain holiday, Paryushana Parva, as Sept. 21. It actually fell in mid-August this year.
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