Fall is here: facts and folklore surrounding the season
Leaves have begun to take on their fall colors along the Whitewater Lake Segment of the Ice Age Trail near Whitewater, Wis., on Sept. 30, 2021.Spenser Heaps, Deseret News On Sept. 22, 2022, at 9:04p.m.EDT, the autumnal equinox will usher in a new season and fall will officially begin, per The Old Farmers Almanac. An equinox, as defined by The National Weather Service, is all about the position of the sun in relation to Earth. As the Northern Hemisphere changes from summer to fall, the center of the sun and the centerline of the Earth match, and both hemispheres have the same amount of exposure to the sun. As the sun passes that midline, the northern part of the Earth sees less of the sun, which causes shorter days and cooler temperatures, while the Southern Hemisphere enters spring with warmer weather and longer days. Related Best drives to see fall leaves in Utah Why does the first day of fall change? Fall includes the last part of September and lasts until Dec. 21, when the winter solstice begins. Most of the time, the fall equinox occurs on Sept. 22 or 23 but very rarely can occur on the Sept. 21 or 24. Related The general conference tradition of baking cinnamon rolls Heres whats in style this fall and how to wear it What does the first day of fall mean in different traditions? The amount of light is a big player in many symbolic interpretations of the equinox and the shift to fall. Ancient Greece, according to History, celebrated the autumnal equinox as the time the goddess Persephone returned to the underworld to be with Hades, leaving the world a little darker. For Buddhists in Japan, the amount of light is not the important part. The west is considered the land of the dead and since the sun sets in the west during this time, ancestors are celebrated and time is spent remembering them, per Higashi Honganji USA. The harvest moon also occurs during this time of year, bringing even more traditions and celebrations.
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at 10:00 pm