Next: 23 Sept 2027
Autumn Equinox
Day and night are equal again: harvest festivals, Higan in Japan, and Mabon for the modern pagan.
When is Autumn Equinox in 2027?
Autumn Equinox 2027 is on Thursday, 23 September 2027. Other years: 2026, Wednesday, 23 September 2026; 2028, Friday, 22 September 2028.
About Autumn Equinox
The September equinox marks the beginning of autumn in the northern hemisphere, and the point at which day and night are about equal before the nights grow longer. It is close to harvest festivals in many cultures: the Harvest Moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Jewish Sukkot, the Autumn Equinox Day of Japan, Shūbun no Hi, when families visit graves and eat ohagi, the harvest home of England, and Michaelmas on 29 September, once a quarter day for paying rents with goose dinners. Modern pagans mark Mabon, a feast of thanksgiving. Farmers bring in the last of the crops, and orchards are picked. In the southern hemisphere, the date marks the start of spring and is a time of planting.
Autumn Equinox dates: 2026, 2027, 2028
| Year | Autumn Equinox date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Wednesday, 23 September 2026 |
| 2027 | Thursday, 23 September 2027 |
| 2028 | Friday, 22 September 2028 |
What is eaten
- ohagi
- apples
- goose
- harvest loaf
Traditions of Autumn Equinox
Also part of it, and being written: Mabon (The pagan name for the festival.).
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "September equinox" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Michaelmas: Julian P Guffogg, CC BY 2.0, source
- Higan: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source