 Known
as fall in North America, autumn astronomically begins on
the autumnal equinox (when the tilt of the Earth's axis is
oriented neither from nor to the Sun causing the Sun to be
located vertically above a point on the equator) and ends
on the winter solstice (when the tilt of the Earth's axis
is most oriented away from the Sun). The autumnal equinox
occurs between September 22 or 23 in the Northern Hemisphere
and on March 20 in the Southern Hemisphere. The winter solstice
ending autumn occurs on December 21 or 22 in the Northern
Hemisphere and June 21 in the Southern Hemisphere.
Meteorological autumn is the season when summer transitions
into winter. In the Northern Hemisphere, meteorological autumn
covers the entire months of September, October and November.
In the Southern Hemisphere, meteorological autumn covers the
entire months of March, April and May.
Before the 16th century, autumn was known as the harvest
season. However, as the population migrated from the farms
to the cities the term fell out of favor.
Besides known as the season for harvesting crops, autumn
is also associated with brightly colored foliage. The two
regions of the world most famous for this natural phenomenon
are North America (Canada and the United States) and Eastern
Asia (China, Korea, and Japan). Though not as dramatic, the
autumn "changing of the leaves" can also be seen
in parts of Europe, Argentina, Australia, Chile and New Zealand.
In ancient China, autumn was known as White Tiger.
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