Science of The Season
The astronomical event that marks the beginning of Fall.
What is The Autumnal Equinox?
The original name for the season of Fall.
What is Harvest?
(The earliest known name for the season, Hærfest is of Germanic origin and means "picking," "plucking," or "reaping". Autumn is thought to be slightly older than the term fall, appearing in the 1300s, with the word fall first appearing around the 1500s in reference to leaves falling off trees, but harvest is the oldest term for the season.)
This holiday is celebrated on October 31st and is known as a day when you can be anything you want.
What is Halloween?
True or False: When Daylight Saving Time ends in November, you lose an hour.
What is False?
(In the Fall we "fall back" and set our clocks back one hour, thus gaining an hour)
True or False: Cranberries grow in water.
What is False?
(Cranberries grow on vines in the wetlands. A common misconception about cranberry production is that the beds remain flooded throughout the year. During the growing season cranberry beds are not flooded, but are irrigated regularly to maintain soil moisture. Beds are flooded in the autumn to facilitate harvest and again during the winter to protect against low temperatures.)
The month during which the Autumnal Equinox occurs in the Southern Hemisphere.
What is March?
(Because of the tilt of the Earth, seasons in the Southern Hemisphere are opposite of what we have here in the Northern Hemisphere. So, in the Southern Hemisphere the autumnal equinox occurs on March 20 or 21, when we have our vernal equinox.)
The first US President to pardon a turkey for Thanksgiving.
Who was President John F. Kennedy?
(Many confuse Truman to be the first since his presidency did mark the start of the official turkey presentation. However, according to the White House Historical Association JFK was the first. The words "pardon" and "reprieve" were used by the Washington Post in a 1963 article, with Kennedy saying "Let's keep him going" in regard to the turkey. It wasn't until the George H.W. Bush presidency that pardoning turkeys became common place for the president.)
This holiday is celebrated on November 11th and honors those who served in the military.
What is Veterans Day?
The sport many Americans gather together to watch every weekend in the fall months.
What is Football?
(he NFL is the most popular sports league in the US and has the highest average attendance of any professional sports league in the world. The NFL has also become increasingly popular outside the US as well, with a growing following in other parts of North America, Europe, Brazil, and Japan.0
True or False: A pumpkin is a fruit.
What is True?
(A pumpkin, from a botanist's perspective, is a fruit because it's a product of the seed-bearing structure of flowering plants. Vegetables, on the other hand, are technically just the edible portions of plants such as leaves, stems, roots, bullbs, flowers, and tubers.)
The reason leaves change colors in the Fall.
What is Less chlorophyll due to less sunlight?
(Because of changes in the length of daylight and changes in temperature, the leaves stop their food-making process. The chlorophyll breaks down, the green color disappears, and the yellow to orange colors become visible and give the leaves their fall splendor.)
In 1621, the "First Thanksgiving" occurred in what is now this city.
What is Plymouth, Massachusetts?
(During the autumn of 1621, at least 90 Wampanoag joined 52 English people to mark a successful harvest. It is remembered today as the “First Thanksgiving,” although no one back then used that term.)
This holiday is celebrated on the last Thursday in November and is all about appreciating the things you have.
What is Thanksgiving?
This animal is said to bring bad luck if it crosses your path.
What is a Black Cat?
(In many cultures, particularly in medieval Europe, black cats were believed to be familiars of witches, meaning they could be used by witches to perform magic, leading to the association with misfortune when a black cat crosses your path.)
At Starbucks, PSL stands for this.
What is Pumpkin Spice Latte?
(Typically available from before the first day of fall through the holiday season, the PSL was first introduced in 2003 and has since become a cultural phenomenon, with multiple petitions to make it available year-round.)
The type of trees that lose their leaves in the Fall.
What are Deciduous?
(Deciduous trees are trees such as ash, beech, elm, aspen, cherry, oak, maple, willow, poplar, and birch trees. They shed their leaves each Fall to prepare for the Winter. Evergreen trees are different and keep their green foliage year-round.)
This world-famous two-week festival starting annually in mid-late September was originally a celebration of a royal wedding.
What is Oktoberfest?
(Oktoberfest was originally a celebration of the marriage of the Bavarian crown prince Ludwig to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen on October 12, 1810, today’s celebrations, however, are more about German heritage, culture, and of course beer.)
This Jewish holiday, celebrating the Jewish new year, is celebrated on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, which usually falls in September or October.
What is Rosh Hashanah?
(Rosh Hashanah means "head of the year". It's a time for introspection, renewal, and commitment. Rosh Hashanah begins a 10-day period of repentance and prayer that ends with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.)
This summer tradition is discouraged after Labor Day in the US.
What is Wearing White?
(The tradition dates back to the late 1800s. In summer, wealthy New Yorkers would don cool, white outfits because only those who could afford to wear white would. Not only did the wealthy summer in the far-cleaner countryside, but if their white clothes got dirty, they had servants to launder them. Those who followed the rule, were generally seen in a more positive light.)
Name one of the three Fall zodiac signs.
What is Libra, Scorpio, or Sagittarius?
(Libras are born between September 23 and October 23. Scorpios are born between October 24 and November 21. Sagittarius are born between November 22 and December 21.)
The astronomical event that marks the end of Fall.
What is The Winter Solstice?
This Ancient Celtic festival was a precursor to many cultures' holidays including Halloween and All Saint's Day.
What was Samhain?
(The Celts believed that the boundary between the living and the dead was thinnest on Samhain, allowing the spirits of the dead returned to earth. Celebrations included wearing costumes and masks to avoid being terrorized by spirits, lighting bonfires to guide souls to the afterlife, honoring their ancestors and inviting them home, carving turnips to ward off spirits, and preparing food for the living and the dead.)
Replacing Columbus Day in October, many states are choosing to celebrate and honor the different Native American cultures and their histories and traditions with this holiday instead.
What is Indigenous Peoples Day?
(Though it is still not a Federal Holiday, in 2021 Joe Biden formally commemorated Indigenous Peoples Day with a presidential proclamation, becoming the first U.S. president to do so. It has been formally commemorated by the president every year since.)
This sport's championship games are also known as the "Fall Classic."
What is Major League Baseball (MLB)?
(This nickname directly relates to the timing of the games, better known as the World Series, as it is played during the fall season in North America, making it the championship series of the autumn period.)
Somewhat similar to Halloween is this Mexican holiday all about celebrating and honoring friends and family who have died.
What is Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)?
(Día de los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd)