CELEBRATIONS
THIS MONTH

September 22

Autumnal Equinox

Fall begins September 22, 11:09 P.M. Eastern Time. The autumnal equinox is defined as the point at which the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator from north to south. The celestial equator is the circle in the celestial sphere halfway between the celestial poles. It can be thought of as the plane of Earth's equator projected out onto the sphere. Night and day is now the same length of time.

September 29

Michaelmas

The feast day of St. Michael is a celebration based on the ancient Celtic calendar. In the British Isles, crops were harvested and the extras sold by late September, so this became the time when farmers would pay their yearly rents to landowners. Everyone ate goose at Michaelmas to bring prosperity, and many farmers included "a goose fit for the lord's dinner" with their rent payments. Great market fairs occurred just before the feast day, and elections were held. Foods traditional for Michaelmas include goose; cakes of oats, barley, and rye; and carrots.

BIRD AND
CHOCOLATE BIRTHDAYS

Colonel Harland David Sanders Founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken,
September 9, 1890

Milton S. Hershey Founder of Hershey Chocolate Company,
September 13, 1857

George Cadbury Chocolate manufacturer
September 19, 1839

Jim Henson Creator of Big Bird and other muppets,
September 24, 1936

QUESTION OF THE DAY Who discovered Pluto, and when?

SEPTEMBER

September comes from the Latin word septem, "seven," because this had been the seventh month of the early Roman calendar.