Harvest Home, and Mabon, are the 22nd of September.
What fall festival Tradition does your family still observe?
Some call it Oktoberfest, but to Pagan folk, it's Harvest Home, or Mabon. This is the big fall festival that calls for a feast. For thousands of years our ancestors developed traditions for the big celebration before winter began. This was the time of the year when the leaves were about to begin falling, the summer vegetable and grain harvest had been gathered, and the winter preparations were mostly done. The bonfire building begins…
In an ideal world, this is when Pagan Folk would gather the surplus from their summer harvest, and head to the home of their Eldest family member for a feast. The whole family would gather there, Uncles, Aunts, Cousins and their new spouses. In an ironic twist, the end of Summer to beginning of Fall is still the most common time for family reunions today in many areas, almost like it was programmed right into our DNA.
We may not be able to travel to our eldest living ancestors home for a feast, but there are still other ways to celebrate.
Great ways to celebrate at home.
Invite Family and Friends.
Turn off the digital devices.
Brew your own Mead or Ale.
Cook an animal for consumption over an open fire. Pig / Poultry / Beef
Serve fresh colorful fruits and vegetables.
Fresh baked organic breads, and cakes.
Thor is my preferred God to honor when it comes to many Home or Harvest related traditions. Some prefer to either also honor Freya, or dedicate the festival to her entirely. To be honest, there really is no wrong way to do this, especially if it is done with genuine intent. As Norse Germanic Pagans go, there were so many unique tribal traditions, that after the dawn of Christianity later became little family traditions. Like making boar cakes, or barley bread on certain holidays, like Yule along with the tradition of cooking pork, usually a ham in modern times, originates from a very old Pagan tradition.
These are the Ancestral Traditions that we want to to keep alive.
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