Háligmónath, the „holy month", is the time of the great harvest and of thanks. Around the autumn equinox one gathers in, counts, and offers.
Name & Meaning
Bede renders Háligmónath simply as „month of sacred rites" – a hint of autumn offerings and thanks. In some places it was also Hærfestmónath, harvest-month. German Herbstmond marks the turn.
Work & Custom
The main harvest comes into the barns: grain, fruit, the late vegetables. It is the time of threshing and storing, of reckoning the stores before winter – and, by its name, of thank-offerings for what the year has borne. The autumn equinox tips the scales toward the dark.
Bede’s Testimony
Háligmónath, „month of sacred rites".
— Bede, De temporum ratione ch. 15.
Sources
Bede, De temporum ratione ch. 15; Faith Wallis (transl.), 1999.