Autumn is Harvest Time

Autumn is one of the four temperate seasons and marks the transition from summer into winter usually in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March (Southern Hemisphere) when the arrival of night becomes noticeably earlier in between summer and winter. Some cultures regard autumnal equinox as "mid-autumn", others with a longer lag treat it as the start of autumn. 

The word autumn comes from the Old French word autompne (automne in modern French), and was later changes to the original Latin word autumus and was common by the 16th century. Just before the  the 16th century, harvest was the term used to refer to the season. Due to the fact that more people gradually moved from working the land to living in towns (and able to read and write and use the language we now know). 

The word harvest has lost its reference to the time of year and come to refer to the actual activity of reaping, and autumn, as well as fall, began to replace it as a reference to the season.

Autumn in poetry has often been associated with melancholy because the possibilities of summer are gone, and the chill of winter is on the horizon, skies turn grey, and many people turn inward, both physically and mentally.

While most foods are harvested during the autumn, foods particularly associated with the season include pumpkins, which are integral parts of Halloween and Thanksgiving, and apples, which are used to make the seasonal beverage apple cider (hot apple cider with cinnamon yum yum!).

Confectionery industries as well as television, film, book, and home decoration use this time of year to promote products associated with holidays, with promotions going from early September to October 31, since their themes lose strength once the holiday ends, and advertising starts to focus on Christmas. Strong associations with football generally geared around fall weather and playing in cold elements. Television stations, networks gear their seasons with new series, new episodes of existing series debuting most during late September.

Since 1997, Autumn has been one of the top too names for girls in the U.S. In Indian mythology, autumn is considered to be preferred season for the goddess of learning Saraswati, who is also known by the name of "goddess of autumn" (Sharada).

Autumn is the beginning of three months of celebrations. Time spent with family,  friends, new fall fashions, new home designs and decorations, baking, cooking, parties, weddings, creative adventures and using lots of fall colors.

What do you look forward to in Autumn?

sketch by Bette, google images, wiki