September

September 15 – October 15 - National Hispanic Heritage Month.

This national observance authorized by Public Law 100-402 states:

The President is herby authorized and requested to issue annually a proclamation designating the 31- day period beginning September 15 and ending on October 15 as “National Hispanic Heritage Month” and calling upon the people of the United States especially the educational community, to observe such month with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

The observation was initiated in 1968 as National Hispanic Heritage Week but was expanded in 1988 to include the entire 31-day period.

 September 1

Labor Day occurs on the first Monday in September and was first celebrated in the United States on September 5, 1882.  The date was deliberately selected to fall between Independence Day and Thanksgiving.  The holiday was suggested by Peter J. McGuire, a New York City carpenter, and a founder of the united brotherhood of Carpenters and by Matthew Maguire, a Paterson, New Jersey machinist.  They strongly believed that American workers should have a holiday similar to those of other countries.  The first celebration was observed only in New York City with a parade of about 10,000 workers.  The idea spread quickly and in 1894, President Grover Cleveland declared Labor Day a national holiday.

 September 7

The impetus for a National Grandparents Day originated with Marian McQuade, a housewife in Fayette County, West Virginia. Her primary motivation was to champion the cause of lonely elderly in nursing homes. She also hoped to persuade grandchildren to tap the wisdom and heritage their grandparents could provide. President Jimmy
Carter, in 1978, proclaimed that National Grandparents Day would be celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day.

 September 16

Stepfamily Day is enhanced by our strong commitment to support the stepfamilies of our nation in their mission to raise their children, create strong family structures to support the individual members of the family, instill in them a sense of responsibility to all extended family members.

Approximately half of all Americans are currently involved in some form of stepfamily relationship and it is the vision of the Stepfamily Association of America that all stepfamilies in the United States be accepted, supported and successful.

Our nation has been blessed by thousands upon thousands of loving stepparents and stepchildren who are daily reminders of the joy, trials, and triumphs of the stepfamily experience and of the boundless love contained in the bond between all types of parents and children. 

Stepfamily Day is a day to celebrate the many invaluable contributions stepfamilies have made to enriching the lives and life experience of the children and parents of America and to strengthening the fabric of American families and society.

 September 21

Autumnal Equinox is either of the two times during the year that the sun crosses the celestial equator, and imaginary line through the sky, and appears directly above the equator, the imaginary line that divides the earth into the northern and southern hemispheres.  When this occurs, the length of the day and the night are approximately equal at every place on earth.  While the earth orbits around the sun, the position of the sun changes in relation to the equator.  Between the March or vernal, equinox and the September, or autumnal, equinox, the sun appears north of the equator.  It appears south of the equator in the time between the September equinox and the March equinox.

In the northern hemisphere, the autumnal equinox will occur either on September 22 or September 23, depending on the earth’s position in the given year.  This day also marks the beginning of autumn.  The word equinox is derived from the Latin word aequinoctium (equal night).

September 27-28

Rosh Hashanah is a solemn celebration of the beginning of the Jewish year.  The new year begins at sunset before the first day of Tishri in the Hebrew calendar and lasts for two days.  However, Reform Jews usually celebrate Rosh Hashanah for one day.

Rosh Hashanah is a time of introspection when Jews examine their relationship with God.  During this period, prayers are said for God’s forgiveness, a good year, and a long life.  The Ten Days of Penitence begin on Tosh Hashanah (the Day of Judgment) and end on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement).  During these days, God decides who will die and who will live in the coming year.