Autumn is here!

The fall season has finally begun! The Autumnal Equinox was at 10:29 p.m. on this Monday, 9/22/14. Tonight the sun will be down for a full 12 hours, and after today the nights will be longer than the days until March in the mid and northern latitudes.


What does equinox even mean?

So, we have the Vernal Equinox, the Summer Solstice, the Autumnal Equinox, and the Winter Solstice. The solstices are the extreme dates, and the equinoxes are the balanced dates. The earth always receives direct sunlight (incoming solar radiation contacting the ground perpendicular to it), but at what latitude that direct sunlight is hitting is determined where in our orbit we are. The Southern Hemisphere receives direct sunlight between the Autumnal equinox and the Vernal Equinox, the Equator receives direct sunlight ON the Equinoxes, and the Northern Hemisphere receives direct sunlight starting after the Vernal Equinox and before the Autumnal Equinox.

The word "Solstice" stems from the Latin words "sol" meaning "sun", and "sistere" or "sitidium" meaning "to stand still" because the sun seemingly stops it's latitudinal movement before reversing direction. This is as a result of the Earth rotating on its axis around the sun.

The word "Equinox" comes from the Latin words "equi" or "aequus" meaning "equal" and "nox" meaning "night". This is to say that in a 24-hour day, there will be 12 hours of sun after the sunrise, and 12 hours of nighttime after the sunset.

(This information and more interesting terminology can be found at
https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/bien-well/fra-eng/vocabulaire-vocabulary/slstc-eqnx-eng.html! Go check it out!)


What does Fall mean to me?

Fall is a fantastic time of year! After a good long summer tennis and baseball season, it's time for some football! Being in the Power Sound of the South marching band at NC State, I love participating in game-day shenanigans including but not limited to: calling out to people from the bus telling them to go to the game, parading around the football stadium, and playing and yelling my head off in the stands. I play mellophone, which is essentially the french horn shaped like a big trumpet for marching band purposes so that the sound is projected forward. Below is a picture of my pumpkin carving from last year. It's a mellophone!

What else does fall mean to me though? Family time. Spending time in the yard mowing and raking leaves, playing board games, going on family walks, traditions, and Thanksgiving. Our biggest tradition during the fall is to watch "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown" as a family, but we have others like carving pumpkins while toasting the pumpkin seeds, and enjoying munching on the seeds later. I also love having fires in the fireplace once temperatures start cooling off, and enjoying a nice cup of hot chocolate on a cool Sunday afternoon.

Thanksgiving is the most important time of fall to me. I serve a God who is alive and active in my life and in the lives of people around me, and we have a national holiday for thanking Him for the blessings He has bestowed upon us. My family's tradition for Thanksgiving is going around the table saying what we are thankful for. Everything! Everything from life, to being able to do medial tasks such as brushing my teeth. This is a wonderful time of year!

I will have another Game Day post this Saturday when we take on Florida State! For now, enjoy the first few days of fall!

(Images found at http://guardianlv.com/2013/09/why-do-we-have-fall/, and http://pichost.me/1785916/)