21 September 2026

September 21 — A Historical Reflection

September 21 has accumulated several different traditions of reckoning with human conduct.

In Judaism, today is Yom Kippur, the 10th of Tishrei. Its ancient ritual, described in Leviticus, centered on the high priest's annual rites of atonement; over centuries, the day developed into a major occasion for fasting, confession, repentance, and reconciliation.

In Japan, this week is Higan, a seven-day Buddhist observance surrounding the autumn equinox. The practice has roots in eighth-century Japan, when Buddhist rites were formally associated with the equinox period.

In Western Christianity, September 21 is the feast of Matthew, traditionally remembered as a tax collector who became one of Jesus's apostles. Whatever one makes of the tradition historically, its preservation tells us something about the Christian memory of an outsider becoming an important member of a religious community.

And since 2001, September 21 has been the United Nations International Day of Peace, deliberately designated as a day of nonviolence and cease-fire.

These traditions don't say the same thing. But they provide four historical approaches to the problem of being human: account for what you have done; examine how you are living; recognize that people can change their social roles; and create institutions that restrain violence.

A useful practice for today is therefore not necessarily to feel peaceful or forgiven. It is to ask a more concrete question:

What, in the way I live today, would still make sense if I had to explain it to someone a hundred years from now?