Celebrating Mabon

Wish there was a place close. I never had the "real" cider. The stuff at grocery stores is just blah.. :(

Do you have any orchards near you? Many of them sell cider during the apple harvest. Or check out your local natural food store, they often have unpasturized cider in the cold case.

Orchards and those stores are like 80 or more miles away! I will look into farmers markets when I have gas to get there. lol

I don't know the Law, other than in England. Here it is illegal to sell home made cider; though it can be given! During the WW2, many American servicemen would hear about Scrumpy, and try to buy it in Public Houses.They would be served a half pint of sweet cider with half a pint of dry; and told that it was Scrumpy. Even now, I have heard people say that they have drunk Scrumpy in a Bar.They haven't!
Real Scrumpy still has "bits" floating about in it; and it looks rather cloudy.Most farmers in the south of England will make it for drinking during Mabon, or at the ceremony of Wassailing.

It's legal here in the States to sell homemade cider that has not been fermented. Fermented of "hard" cider (Such as Strongbow, Woodpecker, Woodchuck, etc) does fall under the same laws that govern beers and wines. It can be made for home use or to share with friends, but it cannot be sold. The orchards here are selling unfermented cider, which is great if you then want to make your own hard cider by going through the proper fermentation process. We're looking at making some this fall.

I think that Canada is the same as the states. There's an Apple orchard I visit in autumn [I make apple butter for Mabon] he sells cider, but I don't think its fermented. Alcoholic varieties can be bought at the beer store or the lcbo.

As mentioned, its like pagan thanksgiving. I invite friends and family over for a thanksgiving esk dinner and circle. As a gift I give everyone a jar of apple butter [kind of a thick applesauce.]

The Law is the same here in the UK. Unfermented cider is just called "Apple Juice". It is the alcohol content that is against the Law to sell to the public. There is, of course, another alcohol cider made from pears, Perry. And many other fruits, such as plums. But, if it contains alcohol it is against the Law to sell it. But most of the villages in England tend to ignore that Law, especially at Mabon.

Yeah, I believe it is called hard cider when it contains alcohol here. At least what I have seen on tv ads. lol But I'd love to try the home made stuff. :) I haven't had alcohol in many years. But I like cider, so yeah..

And so its a get together of sorts.

Well all sabbats are get togethers [except maybe Imbolc most people I know worship solitary but I doubt everyone does] you take in the second harvest, lots of grains, root vegetables, gourds, apples, grapes... Plus its just starting to enter the season of hunting, so ancient pagans used this time to join together, give thanks for the bounty, and share some of their crop with their neighbours. Scaled down, but that's what most pagans do now still. My coven usually calls it Pagan Thanksgiving because the food, and the social aspect, is very much Thanksgiving. The circle should be decorated for the fall, with some of your harvested crops [if you grew any, if not use some apples and dried corn found in most stores around now] and give thanks for the season and everything you have. My coven does a lot of meditating during the Mabon circle as it is also a day of balance, but I don't think most people do that.