Welcome to the Tweet Trends podcast! Hey, Evette! What's trending today? Hey, I'm Evette, Hey Girl!
And you are tuned in to Tweet Trends. It's the quickest way to find out what's trending today. Guess what? Tomorrow is the Fall Equinox.
Let's get started. So you may be wondering what exactly is the Fall Equinox? Or you may know already, and I may be just educating myself. I don't know, but humor me, William.
So, the Fall Equinox, in my personal opinion, is the calendar reminder that Summer in the Northern Hemisphere has officially left the building. Now, when I think back on it, when I was in school, I don't remember us ever learning anything about the Fall Equinox. I don't remember it being a topic of discussion at any given point in time. So, what did I do?
I decided to do a little research on my own. In looking up the word Equinox, I found that it came from two Latin words, one aqueous meaning equal and nox meaning night. Okay, so Equinox is equal night. So, Fall equal night.
Alright, let's continue to break it down some more. The Equinox means that the Sun is going to be positioned exactly above the Earth's equator tomorrow, and this is going to happen at approximately 3.21 pm Eastern daylight time. Well, what does that mean? That means that at that point in time, we are going to have equal day and equal night, meaning the lightness and the darkness are going to be about the same length of time in duration.
Well, what else does that mean? It means that this is also the start of the time where the days are going to get shorter and the nights are going to get longer. We see it all the time. We see it as the seasons change You saw it coming into summer where your days got longer and your nights are shorter.
Now, just the opposite. Your days are going to be shorter, your nights are going to be longer, so get ready. I can't say that I've ever seen any Fall Equinox parades or telephones on television. So, just kind of wondering, how do people celebrate the Fall Equinox?
And of course, you know, around the globe, everyone does something a little bit different. However, there are hints of the same type of concept just because of what the season does and how the season changes. So, let's look at a couple of them. To Ancient Greeks, the Fall Equinox was when the Goddess Persephone would return to her husband Hades in the underworld.
What does that mean? Well, Persephone was the Goddess of Vegetation and Agriculture. And so, basically, she's leaving the world to go back to the underworld to her husband, which means that this is the time that the Earth is going into morning. All of the vegetation and everything is starting to die out.
The days and the months following are then going to start to get shorter. The temperatures are going to drop. It's going to get colder. So, these are the colder, darker months of the year.
And that was how Ancient Greeks viewed the Fall Equinox. Now, to Japanese Buddhist, it coincides with the, I guess this is the Hegan holiday. Excuse me if I pronounce that wrong, is H-I-G-A-N Holiday, where people return to their hometowns to pay respect to their ancestors. Now, I'm feeling that one.
I like that because I feel like a lot of times we get so caught up into ourselves and what we're doing, especially those people who have moved away from their hometowns, they tend to lose that connection. So, if there's any way or thing that can then bring you back and pull you in and have you remembering your roots, I love it. I love the idea. So, that one to me is a winner.
Also, in ancient China, as well as the UK, this would be a time that was used to celebrate successful harvest, because at this point, things should have already been harvested and now you're storing up for the winter. I haven't seen any flyers about the Fall Equinox cookout or set or anything like that that somebody's throwing. So, I kind of like to think that here in the United States, we don't do a whole lot for the Fall Equinox other than just saying, hey, today is the Fall Equinox. You hear about it on the news, the weather man will talk about it, and then kind of give you a little brief rundown about what the next season is looking like if hurricanes and stuff like that are expected to pick up, you hear that kind of thing, but you don't hear much else.
So, my question now is, how can we celebrate? Well, self-care is very important, especially during seasonal changes. You have to know that. That's a given.
So, because the Equinox represents the balance between the light and the dark, the introduction of more darkness is starting to come into our lives just by mere sunlight. But we can look at this as being symbolic as well and use this time to shed more light on maybe the dark areas of our subconscious and be intentional, excuse me, about seeking out what dark areas of our lives we've been avoiding. We can also remind ourselves of all the blessings that we have, because once again, the season that we are heading into is known to bring about feelings of depression and sadness, especially around the holiday times. So, make sure that you make plans for regular self-check-ins to see how you're doing.
And then, once you've checked on yourself, check on your loved ones as well, maybe even consider an occasional warm oil massage, and how good does that sound, especially as the weather gets colder, a warm oil massage? Ooh, yes. So, not only will it prevent dry skin as most people are plagued with once the weather gets colder and drier, but it also can help you to be able to concentrate better and have a clearer mind and make more informed decisions, or better informed decisions. Sounds great, right?
I think those are some great ways that we can start to begin to create a type of ritual for ourselves around the fall equinox, and have it focused on self-care. Now you know what the fall equinox is, and how cultures in the past have celebrated it, as well as how it could possibly affect you in the here and now. We have the ammunition that we need to now take on the fall. And starting with the fall equinox tomorrow, let's sit down maybe and come up with those plans, set dates on your calendar, set reminders to say, hey, this is a check-in day, this is a self-care day, this is a warm oil massage day, you know, turn it into a fun thing for you and your friends or you and your family, and actually be mindful as we go into the season.
Once again, this season is plagued with depression because we've got the holidays coming around, the holidays tend to bring about memories of the past and various loved ones who are no longer with us, and therefore people with a lack of sunlight and vitamin D, they tend to then turn inward and just kind of crumble. So, keep an eye out for your own health and well-being, but also keep an eye out for the next person's one as well. Look and check in on your loved ones and friends to see that they are handling the season well, and if they're not, have them come and join you with your new fall equinox rituals that you're going to do. Have them do the warm oil massage with you, have them come and just have a chat day, sit down, journal, do something fun for yourself, and I guarantee you that this season won't be as taxing and stressful because you took the time out to take care of self.
Alright, so while you're in the process of taking care of self, why not share today's episode with your friends? Just in case you fall short, then you have accountability because they heard it too, and they're then going to check on you and be like, hey, did you do yourself check in? How are you feeling? How about let's go for that warm oil massage right now?
I think we could both use it. You know, so share this episode, share the entire volume of TweetTrans episodes. You know where to find me. I'm at HEVET, that's at H-E-E-V-E-T-T-E.
You can find me on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or you can always look for the hashtag TweetTrans as well. Alright, have a great one. See you on the other side of the Fall equinox. Take care.