Fun Fall Inspiration

What are the origins of the season’s different names?

• The names “fall,” “autumn” and “harvest” all have different origins and refer to the third season of the year when summer transitions into winter and when the “autumnal equinox” marks the start of the season in the Northern Hemisphere. This is based on the sun and the time of year when it passes over the equator; the days become shorter and the weather cooler.
• The name “fall” is most commonly used to refer to the season by those in North America while Europeans usually say “autumn.” “Fall” most likely refers to the falling of the leaves and may refer to the Old English word “feallan.” The English novelist Emily Brontë (most well-known forWuthering Heights, 1847) was quoted as saying: “Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.”
• In turn, “autumn” comes from the Latin word “autumnus.”
• Before it was called autumn or fall, the season was referred to as “harvest” (in the 12^thand 13^th centuries).

What are some fun activities unique to fall?

• Apple picking: a visit to an orchard to pick apples as the leaves turn is one of the most beloved pastimes of the season.

This quotation by a master of storytelling and creator of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, is a wonderful reminder of just how lovely autumn can be: “Autumn seemed to arrive suddenly that year. The morning of the first September was crisp and golden as an apple.” – J.K. Rowling

• Bobbing for Apples: a tried-and-true carnival favorite that’s wonderful when the air starts to turn crisp in the fall.
• Jumping into leaves: there’s nothing more fun or whimsical than jumping into a pile of beautifully colored fall leaves. The fallen leaves that vary in color from golden yellow to other varying hues of orange and red are what makes fall such a beloved time of year.

Take a cue from the childhood classic, Winnie the Pooh (Pooh’s Grand Adventure by Bruce Talkington):

“It’s the first day of autumn! A time of hot chocolatey mornings, and toasty marshmallow evenings, and, best of all, leaping into leaves!”

• Pumpkin Carving: With Halloween right around the corner, there’s nothing spookier, more creative, or fun than carving a big yellow pumpkin to create a scary Jack-O-Lantern.
• Collecting fallen leaves: the French philosopher and writer, Albert Camus, said that “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” Take this to heart when going for a fall walk; you’ll be tempted to collect every leaf you pass. Each is unique and as beautiful as a blossom. Press your favorite leaves into a scrapbook as a memento.

Here are some more quotations about fall from some of the world’s most beloved and respected writers. These will hopefully inspire future reading.

• “Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love—that makes life and nature harmonize.” –George Eliot (also known by her given name, Mary Ann Evans was one of the leading novelists of the Victorian era)
• “And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves…” -Virginia Woolf (a modernist 20th writer most well-known for her novels,To The Lighthouse (1927),Mrs. Dalloway(1925), and her non-fiction workA Room of One’s Own (1929)
• “A wind has blown the rain away and blown the sky away and all the leaves away, and the trees stand. I think, I too, have known autumn too long.” –e.e. cummings (one of America’s most beloved poets: he wrote nearly 3,000 poems and his first published collection was Tulips and Chimneys (1923)

For more inspirational quotations about fall and its beauty from artists, writers and great thinkers, visit Countryliving.com:

https://www.countryliving.com/life/g1897/fall-quotes/

For more information on the four seasons (fall in particular), consult these websites:

https://www.almanac.com/content/first-day-fall-autumnal-equinox

­­­­­http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/02/why-we-call-the-seasons-summer-autumn

https://slate.com/culture/2018/09/why-does-autumn-have-two-names-how-the-third-season-became-both-autumn-and-fall.html