Dixya Poudel

Autumn is a season of crisp air, clearer skies and a gradual herald to winter days. Come autumn, there is a slight chill in the air and the days start to get shorter as the nights prolong. And the change of season is observed quietly by people as they prepare to face the winter. In countries worldwide, autumn is marked with tree leaves changing their colours. The leaves change their colour from green to yellow, red or brown making the scenery quite mesmerising.
On September 22nd, the autumn equinox, also known as September equinox was observed on the Northern hemisphere. The word Equinox is derived from Latin words "aequi" meaning equal and "nox" meaning night. Thus, in an equinox the day and the night have equal length which occurs every six months. Interestingly, the two equinoxes are called as autumn equinox and spring equinox. When it is autumn equinox in the Northern hemisphere, it is simultaneously spring equinox in the Southern hemisphere and vice versa. In the Northern hemisphere, autumn season arrives with September equinox and ends with winter solstice in 21st December.
The word autumn is derived from Latin word "autumnus." The term "harvest" was used to signal the autumn season before the 16th century in the Western countries. As people who farmed migrated from rural areas to the urban towns, the word harvest lost its usage and instead the word autumn was used. Autumn isn’t just the season of changing leaves, it is also when the birds migrate. Swifts, cuckoos, swallows and nightingales are among the many birds that migrate from north to the south in favour of warmer climates. Meanwhile, several animals start their preparation for winter by gathering foods and growing thicker fur as they begin to hibernate. Plants prepare for the changes as well by halting their food production as they change the colour of their leaves before shedding them. It is the deciduous trees that shed their leaves during this season.
Autumn associates the shift from summer to winter during which most foods are harvested. Particularly in North America, autumn season is associated with a certain Celtic festival known as Halloween. During Halloween, children dress up as various characters from pop culture and play "trick-or-treating" in their neighbourhoods. However, even adults love to dress up as different characters and attend parties and partake in the joviality. Autumn also refers to a new school year for students in the Western nations and hence the origin of the term "Back to School." Thanksgiving Day too falls on autumn thus making it a season of celebrations. This season is heavily represented in art on mediums such as paintings, movies, music and illustrations. In social media, people love to share their pictures of the autumn leaves in their finery decking the streets red and golden brown. The season is thus a representation of cosy days before winter descends with an increasingly colder weather. Closer to home, in Nepal, the auspicious festivals of Dashain and Tihar fall on this season during which people unite and observe the various religious and cultural festivities.
Each year, seasons change and with them, the routines of people change, too. And autumn is an exceptional season which in a few months creates a smooth transition from the warmer to colder days.