dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (08/08/84)
Today is a hallmark of the year -- what's called a cross-quarter day. More about it -- after this. August 1: A Cross-Quarter Day August owes its name to July. July was named for Julius Caesar, a Roman general, statesman and writer. If July hadn't been named for Julius, August may not have been named for his successor, Augustus Caesar. August 1 is one of the four so-called cross-quarter days. A cross-quarter day is one that comes about midway between a solstice and an equinox. According to tradition, there's some disagreement about whether the seasons begin at the equinoxes and solstices -- or between them, on the cross-quarter days. In other words, some scholars might tell you that today should be the first day of autumn! The cross-quarter days generally coincide with times of celebration. The next such holiday is Halloween, which falls on the fourth and last cross-quarter day for the year. Today's holiday is less well-known -- at least in America. It's Lammas -- also known as "loaf-mass" -- the day on which worshippers traditionally offer a smal loaf of bread as a feast-day contribution. Lammas was originally one of the great pagan festivals in Britain. On the day of the June solstice, the sun reached its northernmost point in the sky. We here in the northern hemisphere celebrated the first day of summer. Now, on this cross-quarter day, we're about halfway along to the September equinox, when the sun will again cross the celestial equator and bring autumn to the northern hemisphere. Tune in tomorrow to Star Date -- and we'll talk about what makes the month of August so special to stargazers. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1983, 1984 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin