https://spectra.video/videos/watch/f25fe9af-68f6-466c-81f7-3076c6a625d7 The Cross-quarter Day between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice is actually November 5-7, often simplified to October 31, or Nov 1 in traditions like Halloween, Samhain, Day of the Dead, etc. (Diwali seems closer to the right date?). Also rooted in this astronomical date is Mārtiņi or Mārtiņdiena -Martin's Day/Martinmas, typically observed on November 10, which conflates the ancient seasonal observance with the day of a Christian saint. That part is of no interest to me, my focus of course is on the more ancient roots of the occasion, related to the changing of the season. In the Latvian calendar this marks the end of Time of Spirits- a time to welcome and honour the spirits of the dead (loved ones/family) and marks the beginning of winter, with changes in agricultural tasks as Time of Ice begins. Mārtiņš is the 'modern' name given to the god who presides over this changing season, the autumn counterpart of Ūsiņš who ushers in spring. The two gods- twins or aspects of the same deity with seasonal changes? probably stem from ancient Indo-European twin gods with duties of escorting the sun, making them important at these seasons of increasing and diminishing solar strength. (Of course they've picked up many more earlthy agrarian associations- bees, horses, poultry etc- partly due to farming tasks that need to be performed around these dates, and maybe partly due to mixing with other ancient gods of similar names, even the Christian saints-who had the characteristics/associations first?!). Unfortunately I've been unable to find a pre-Christian name for Mārtiņš- it may be lost to time, or perhaps he was just considered autumn Ūsiņš in Latvia? If anyone has insights I'd love to hear 😃 I'm not a farmer, of course, and my climate and garden tasks are different, so the 8 ancient seasons for me are more about observing nature, so this celebration is mostly walking around on the acreage, observing plants, trees, sky, taking stock of where the season is at, appreciating the everchanging beauty... Music excerpt: Dido's Lament from Dido and Aeneas (Henry Purcell) - by Golden Cut Reborn YouTube Audio Library Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:03:18 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://spectra.video https://spectra.video/lazy-static/avatars/71f5d173-eea9-47a7-b254-f7e91f9f5d25.png https://spectra.video/videos/watch/f25fe9af-68f6-466c-81f7-3076c6a625d7 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://spectra.video/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.