Happy Cross-Quarter Day! Er…I mean Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Or, if you’re an ancient Celt (seems unlikely, but what do I know) or modern pagan, Happy Samhain! Or if you prefer a Christianized way of looking at it, Happy All Hallows! But of course we’re a space and astronomy blog here at Spacing Out, so maybe I’ll just say Happy Cross-Quarter Day instead.

What’s that I hear you say, Dear Reader, you have no idea what a cross-quarter day is? Well, don’t fret, very few people refer to them as that these days, but I assure you that if you know the terms Halloween or Samhain or All Hallows (or its other name, All Saints Day), then you already know at least one cross-quarter day. As to what that actually means…well, let’s take a look!

Solar Holidays

When it comes to holidays (or just special days if you don’t consider them holidays) centered around the movement of the Sun, the two big ones that most folks think of are the solstices. The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, when (for the Northern Hemisphere) the Sun rises as far north of east as it gets, sets as far north of east as it gets, reaches the highest point in the sky that it will reach all year, and is above the horizon for the longest amount of time. For some parts of the Earth it’s up all day and never sets. 

The Winter Solstice is, naturally, the opposite: the Sun rises and sets as far south of east and west as it gets, its high point is the lowest high point of the year, and its time above the horizon is the shortest (and for parts of the Earth it doesn’t rise at all). For the Southern Hemisphere just swap the words “north” and “south”. 

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These days are considered today to be the first day of summer and winter, respectively, and occur in late June and late December (again note that things flip between hemispheres: the June Solstice is the Summer Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere and the Winter Solstice for the Southern, for instance).

Somehow, probably because they don’t mark extremes, the equinoxes never seem to get the same amount of attention as the solstices. In fact the equinoxes, as denoted by the “equi” in their names, mark the days when things are much more equal around the globe. The Sun rises perfectly in the east and sets perfectly in the west and is up for approximately 12 hours no matter where you are.

I personally find these days of equilibrium even more remarkable from a physics standpoint than the excesses of the solstices, but I definitely seem to be in the minority. Today we use the equinoxes to mark the first days of spring and autumn.

The In-Betweens

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What about what comes between the solstices and equinoxes? Well, like any two points in time, there is always a day halfway between any given solstice and the equinoxes. These are the cross-quarter days. The exact day on which these would fall according to our modern calendar would vary each year, but they were always close to February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1. 

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These weren’t necessarily significant days to many ancient cultures—certainly not to the extent that the solstices and equinoxes were. But they were a huge deal to the Celtic and Gaelic cultures of the British Isles. For those cultures, these days, which today sit directly in the middle of the seasons, instead marked their beginnings.

And you know what? That way of doing it makes more sense to me than the way that we do things today. Think about it for a second: does it make more sense for the shortest day of the year to be the very beginning of winter? Or does it make more sense for that short day to be the midpoint of winter? Should the longest day of the year be the very first day of summer, or should it be midsummer? 

On the flip side, I don’t think it makes much sense to think of spring beginning in February or autumn beginning in August, not for us northerly latitudes. But then I’m not a person who generally has to worry about getting my spring planting or fall harvesting organized, so perhaps I’m not the best person to consult.

Happy Holiday

To those ancient residents of the British Isles, the cross-quarter days were holidays. In fact the Republic of Ireland still recognizes official public holidays on or around the cross-quarter days. And, whether by coincidence, co-opting existing holidays of older cultures, or just the same recognition of these days as being special, there still are traditional Christian holidays celebrated on or around those same dates.

Look at February 1. To the pre-Christian populations of the British Isles (and to certain modern pagan traditions), this is Imbolc, the first day of spring. It eventually also became St. Brigid’s Day, in celebration of one of Ireland’s patron saints, as well as the time of Candlemas, a feast day for various Christian denominations.

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And you know what? We here in the US still have associations with this time and the beginning of spring. February 2^nd is, after all, Groundhog Day (a practice originating from German Candlemas traditions), when we all collectively consult a rodent about just when spring will get here. 

May 1 is Beltane, the beginning of summer. It seems to also be connected to the Christian observation of Whitsunday, and of course we still often refer to this day as May Day. Beltane also has traditions associated with bonfires, and don’t we still love to gather around a campfire during those late summer evenings?

August 1 is Lughnasa. This is when autumn, the season of the harvest, began, and is specifically associated with the ancient god Lugh. In the Christian calendar this is the celebration of Lammas, a festival associated with loaves of bread as a blessing on the first of the harvest.

Trick or Treat

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And, of course, there’s Samhain, celebrated on or near November 1. Probably the most famous ancient Celtic and Gaelic tradition still talked about today, Samhain marked the beginning of winter, the darkest time of the year. The Christian calendar places All Saint’s Day, or All Hallow’s Day at the same time. And over time the two traditions have managed to become intermixed and intertwined. 

All Hallow’s Day, of course, is proceeded by All Hallow’s Eve, or Hallow’s Even—Halloween, once you slur it out a little. Halloween is one of my personal favorite holidays, and is an increasingly popular one worldwide. The modern holiday takes a lot of its inspiration and some of its symbols from the festival of Samhain (as well as any number of other sources), even as it takes its date officially from All Hallow’s Day.

The Darkest Days

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So as you celebrate Halloween this year, whether it’s by trick or treating, or by going to a costume party, or by staying home snacking on Reese’s Cups while watching “Hocus Pocus” for the bazillionth time (what, that movie is brilliant), first of all do so safely and enjoyably.

But once that’s taken care of, maybe take a moment to consider the astronomical significance of the occasion. The equinox is well behind us, the solstice far in the distance. The days are shortening at an ever-increasing rate and we are, without question, charging full tilt into the darkest time of the year.

For us, as for ancient cultures the world over, this can be an intimidating time. But don’t fret—we’re already halfway to the Winter Solstice, when the Sun will begin to come back and the days will lengthen a little at a time. In the meantime though, enjoy those Reese’s Cups. And have a very Happy Halloween!