September: Where does the name come from and what is the secret of the Bawashir rituals in this month?

Arab Weather - Dr. Ahmed Mahmoud Jabr Al-Shuraidah - Researcher in Agricultural Heritage - Jordan, wrote that the month of September is the ninth month in the Gregorian Roman solar calendar.

What does September mean?

"Aylul" is a word taken from the "Aramaic-Syriac language" and its equivalent in the Arabic language is the word (wal) meaning "screaming and wailing". In this month, mourning (wailing) for the god "Tammuz" and screaming are held. This meaning is linked to the season of people calling out to each other in preparation for the planting season and the rains that begin at its end in the Levant.

September in Latin means "seven," the seventh month of ten months in the oldest Roman calendar, that of Romulus (750 BC). After the calendar reform that added January and February to the beginning of the year, September became the ninth month but retained its name. September was called "harvest month" in Charlemagne's calendar.

Number of days in September and its occasions

• It is the third month of four months that have (30) days.
• September 1st is considered the beginning of autumn in meteorology.
• September 22nd marks the autumnal equinox, the end of astronomical summer and the beginning of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere.
• It hosts "Bawahir," a traditional Eastern method of predicting weather conditions for the upcoming rainy season using rock salt.
• The Harvest Moon falls on the last night of September, Friday, September 29, 2023, when the moon becomes full and its brightness and shine become distinctive, lighting up the sky throughout the night, turning the night into almost day. Its nighttime illumination is considered the strongest during the year.
• September marks the beginning of the church year in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
• The Feast of the Cross falls on September 14th according to the Western calendar and September 27th according to the Eastern calendar.
• The beginning of the school year in many countries in the Northern Hemisphere, when students return to school after the summer holidays, sometimes on the first day of September.
• September is the month of pomegranate fruit par excellence, as it is the time of ripening and harvesting.

Below are the most famous oral proverbs used in the Arab Levant about the month of September.

1- (September has a wet tail) meaning that rain may fall in the last days of September, and it is considered the most popular proverb that is widely circulated in the Arab world.

2- September: The first third is acceptable, the second third is balanced, and the third third is wet.

3- September at the end reveals all the unknown.. (Many people used to look at the last days of September as an indicator of the year’s conditions in terms of rain and hail.

4- If the Canopus star appears, do not feel safe from the flood... (The Bedouins believe that the weather changes when they see the Canopus star in September, and it is a sign of rain falling.)

5- In September, the harvest of chickpeas, lentils and beans is finished.

6- Contemporary September... (a name given to the month of September, in the latter part of which olives and grapes are pressed to make molasses).

7- Pomegranate clouds herald the arrival of rain to the Arabs.. (September clouds, the period of pomegranate ripening, herald the arrival of rain.

8- After the cross, every green tree turns gray... (the leaves of the trees turn yellow... their fruits decrease and their green color disappears.

9- If it is crucified, it will be destroyed.. (i.e. with the passage of the Feast of the Cross, the length of the day will decrease, the intensity of the sun will diminish, and the weather will become disturbed.