Even though some think "fall" once Labor Day weekend arrives - or when school begins for the kids - that is technically still summer.
However, with October almost here, it’s important to note the fall season officially starts in September.
When Does Fall Start?
Thursday, September 22. Depending on the source, some experts predict the exact start time of fall will occur after 3:17 p.m. but before dinnertime. We assume Fall does this on purpose so it won’t have to help buy groceries for dinner that night, but Fall knows it will get away with this because we can’t stay mad at Fall.
What Determines The Start of Fall?
Officially, the primary factor of the start of fall would be the autumnal equinox, when the days start getting shorter and it starts getting dark earlier in the day.
For anyone living north of Miami, the true determination of the start of fall rests with the change in weather. It’s not always apparent in every part of the country, but fall weather does tend to eventually arrive at some point after September 22. Unless, of course, you’re living in Ohio, New York, or any state that experiences seasons. The warm and hot weather generally remains throughout September and October in many states south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Mother Nature gets involved with the start of fall, too. Depending on location, the leaves on the trees will start to change color before eventually falling to the earth, at which point the colorful bounties of nature will become a chore and a hassle for anyone with a yard that has to rake and bag leaves for the next few months. But it’s still fun to jump into a pile of them.
How Do We Celebrate Fall?
Two words: pumpkin spice. You can’t escape it, but you can survive it.
Actually, Americans tend to celebrate the arrival of fall with the same wild enthusiasm they have for Christmas and the other winter holidays. Stores suddenly burst with fall décor and fashions, restaurants start offering food and drink themed for the season, and Halloween stuff becomes commonplace weeks before September 22.
How excited does everyone get for the fall? It’s possible to buy pumpkin beer in late July.
Parents tend to celebrate the fall by sending their kids back to school. Kids enrolled at private schools or colleges can retaliate by sending their parents a copy of their tuition bill.
And then there’s football, America’s other pastime. Doesn’t matter whether it’s peewee, high school, college, or professional, the arrival of football remains completely tied to the start of fall. Yes, practice does technically start in the summer, but football has been a fall sport for decades.
Fall also proves an ideal time to enjoy nature by camping, hiking, and doing all the outdoor things nobody wanted to do in the summer because it was too hot. Seriously, unless you live near the mountains, don’t go tent camping in the summer.
And speaking of the Great Outdoors, probably the biggest indicator of fall celebrations can be found with harvest festivals. Even if the weather still feels like summer, the urge to get outside and visit a farmer’s market, go apple picking, or indulge in a hayride will become harder to ignore.
So enjoy fall while you can. The Christmas displays will start popping up soon!