Autumn in Literature & Poetry
In Washington Irving's tale, this schoolmaster encounters the Headless Horseman while riding home through Sleepy Hollow.
Ichabod Crane
Deciduous trees reveal orange and yellow colors in autumn because this green pigment breaks down.
chlorophyll
This North American holiday is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States.
Thanksgiving
This squash lends its name to a color and is the key ingredient in many seasonal pies.
pumpkin
This holiday's name comes from "All Hallows' Eve."
Halloween
This poet wrote "Nothing Gold Can Stay," a short poem often interpreted as reflecting the fleeting beauty of autumn.
Robert Frost
This astronomical event, occurring around September 22 or 23 in the Northern Hemisphere, marks the official start of autumn.
autumnal equinox
In Germany and around the world, this festival originally celebrated the annual beer harvest.
Oktoberfest
The apple variety most frequently used in classic French tarte Tatin is often this tart green cultivar.
Granny Smith
The Salem witch trials took place in this New England colony in 1692
Massachusetts Bay Colony
This Romantic poet began his famous ode with the line "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness."
John Keats
Many birds navigate southward during fall using a combination of stars, landmarks, and this planetary force.
Earth's magnetic field
This Jewish holiday, often occurring in autumn, is known as the Day of Atonement.
Yom Kippur
This edible fungus, prized in autumn cuisine, forms a symbiotic relationship with tree roots and is hunted by specially trained dogs and pigs
truffle
This legendary horseman of American folklore is famous for pursuing travelers without possessing a head.
Headless Horseman
This American transcendentalist spent years recording seasonal changes around Concord, Massachusetts, creating some of the earliest phenology records in North America.
Henry David Thoreau
The shortening of daylight that triggers many autumn biological changes is known by this scientific term.
photoperiodism
In China and several East Asian countries, people celebrate this festival by viewing the full moon and eating mooncakes.
Mid-Autumn Festival
Traditionally produced after the first frost, Eiswein is known by this English name.
ice wine
This failed English colonial settlement vanished mysteriously from Roanoke Island, becoming one of America's most enduring historical mysteries.
Lost Colony of Roanoke
Published in 1922, this T.S. Eliot poem opens with the line, "April is the cruellest month," contrasting spring's renewal with decay.
The Waste Land
The red and purple hues seen in many autumn leaves are primarily created by this class of pigments.
anthocyanins
This Japanese autumn tradition involves gathering to appreciate the beauty of the full harvest moon.
Tsukimi
Calvados, a spirit strongly associated with Normandy, is distilled primarily from this fruit.
apple
According to Greek mythology, autumn begins when this goddess is taken to the Underworld by Hades.
Persephone