9/7/2023 0 Comments Autumnal equinox celebration![]() ![]() Or visit one of the quieter temples such as Yuten-ji, Kotoku-ji or Zojo-ji. Look for temple festivals near your home.Join your friends and search for higan-bana (彼岸花) – a type of flower that blooms around this time.If not, you could ask friends if they would like any support from their families. As per the tradition, if you have ancestors in Japan you could tend to their gravestones. Perhaps the best way to spend this time is to express gratitude to loved ones who have passed over. How You Can Commemorate the Autumnal Equinox in/around Tokyo People also celebrate the good weather and autumn harvest by enjoying outdoor activities and eating Shibun no Hi snacks such as botomachi – a ball of sweet rice in azuki paste. This “other shore” is linked to enlightenment, and thus, this holiday is connected to six practices (paramitas) that are believed to lead to it: generosity, morality, perseverance, concentration, meditation and wisdom.ĭuring O-higan, people will reconnect with their families to tend to the graves of ancestors and visit shrines and temples. Following both the autumnal and vernal equinoxes is the Buddhist holiday Ohigan, which literally means “the other shore”. ![]() ![]() Despite the rebranding of the holiday, the religious significance of the equinox still remains. However, after WWII the government separated religion from the state through the post-war constitution and the day was rebranded as a non-religious holiday. In addition to the seasonal significance of the Autumnal Equinox, this holiday also paid tribute to the spirits of deceased relatives and Japanese Emperors. Yet, the well-established roots of this holiday – originally called Shuki Koreisai – are believed to stem from Shintoism and Buddhism. Japan, along with other nations, has celebrated the Autumnal Equinox for centuries and it has been a national holiday since the Meiji period. How Did the Autumn Equinox Holiday Start? Japan also celebrates the vernal equinox with a national holiday, Vernal Equinox Day. The first equinox of the year occurs in March and is called the Vernal Equinox, which indicates the end of winter and the start of spring. Although contrary to popular belief, the lengths of day and night are not exactly equal. The word equinox comes from latin, meaning ‘equal night’. The Autumn Equinox occurs when the sun passes over the equator from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere. The sun is above the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere, making it summer there.Japan’s Autumnal Equinox Day When Exactly is Japan’s Autumn Equinox? Likewise, a winter solstice happens in the Northern Hemisphere when the hemisphere is tilting away from the sun, making it the day with the least amount of sunlight. It is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, where the Earth is tilting away from the sun. On the day of a solstice, the Earth is at its maximum tilt, 23.5 degrees, either toward or away from the sun.ĭuring a summer solstice, the sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere and is tilting toward the sun, causing the longest day of the year. But at a place with 60 degrees of latitude, such as Alaska's Kayak Island, a day is about 12 hours and 16 minutes. At the equator, daylight may last for about 12 hours and seven minutes. Day and night appear to be equal due to the bending of the sun's rays, which makes the sun appear above the horizon when it is actually below it.ĭuring an equinox, days are slightly longer in places with higher latitudes. News On the equinox, 'Chicagohenge' emerges from the city's skyscrapersĪt places along the equator, the sun is directly overhead at about noon on these days. ![]()
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