You don’t have to look far online at the moment before you come across a ‘best things about autumn’ type list or an article about ‘hygge’. Autumn seems to be everyone’s favourite season, mine included. Goddess knows we all need something to look forward to right now!
I just love watching the seasons change and autumn with all of its colour from falling leaves is one of my favourites. For meteorologists, summer comes to an end on August 31 and autumn begins on September 1, running until November 30. This coincides with the end of the school summer holidays and return back to schools in the first week of September in the UK. Our weather is still more similar to end of May/early June though so it’s still relatively warm.
But astronomical autumn (defined by the Earth’s axis and orbit around the Sun) has summer ending on September 21/22 in the northern hemisphere and autumn beginning on September 22/23 (this year September 22nd to December 21st).
On the autumn equinox, day and night are of roughly equal length and the nights will become increasingly longer than the days, until the winter solstice. It also marks the time of year when the northern hemisphere begins to tilt away from the Sun, resulting in less direct sunlight and consequently the cooling temperatures.
In Greek mythology, autumn began when Persephone was abducted by Hades to be the Queen of the Underworld. In distress Persephone’s mother, Demeter (the goddess of the harvest), caused all the crops on Earth to die until her daughter was allowed to return, marking spring.
We typically think of ‘fall’ as the North American version of the word ‘autumn’, but it was in fact in widespread usage in England until relatively recently.
Originally a shortening of the phrase fall of the leaf, the phrase was common in England in the 17th century.
The word autumn entered English from the French automne and didn’t become common usage until the 18th century!
There are so many reasons I’m looking forward to autumn for. Here are my 8 reasons why autumn is the best season so you can get excited too!
Scroll to the end for my Autumn TV shows and film - both new and classic, including what Gilmore Girls episodes are the 'fall' ones...
8 reasons why fall is my favorite season
(Forgive me for going all American in some of the terminology in this post but more people search the American terms so I’m trying my luck – blame Google.)
Autumn is a new start
September to me, feels like the true New Year. January is miserable, Christmas is gone and you are back to work feeling blue – it’s not a time for testing resolutions.
However, September feels like the start of something new, a change in the seasons and the kids going back to school.
A time for brand new stationery and getting good habits back on track after a summer of trips and time spent gallivanting around in the balmy weather.
It’s the final quarter of the year, a chance to take stock and achieving the things you want to achieve before the year comes to an end.
Autumn is a season of hope
It’s a season full of hope and excitement. You know that at the end – Christmas and New Year’s awaits.
Exciting events in autumn
Planning Halloween, Bonfire Night, Christmas and New Year gives you so much to look forward to.
Halloween and dressing up is so fun. Kids are super cute at Halloween and trick or treating with them makes my heart melt quicker than Olaf on a sunny day.
I have a bunch of helpful posts for Halloween with kids that you might find useful: 20 ways to make Halloween at home fun for kids, My guide for a happy Halloween at home, The ultimate guide to the best Halloween films for kids and 4 easy ideas for Halloween fun at home.
Autumn can be about slowing down
It’s a season where you can give yourself permission to slow down from a hectic summer and embrace home comforts.
Most people spend more time at home relaxing with family which is what life is all about.
Autumn is about being cosy
Dark cosy nights with candles on, wrapped up in blankets.
Sitting inside watching the rain fall and the wind howl feels very self-indulgent but you are abated of any guilt from going out because you aren’t ‘wasting the good weather’.
Autumn is a time for great food and drinks
- Three words – hot chocolate season
- Pumpkin ‘errythin’ – try my one pot pumpkin soup with apple, lentils and chickpeas that you can make with leftover carving pumpkin guts or butternut squash
- We welcome back delicious comfort food like hearty stews and casseroles and trade off our summer salads for warming soups. Nothing beats comfort food and it’s where British cuisine excels itself. Try my my slow cooker vegan mung bean and spinach dahl recipe.
Autumn fashion
Autumn fashion is without a doubt the best (and incidentally most comfortable fashion). I love that our fashion in autumn seems to match the vibrant colours and earthy tones of the season (side note that this suits me as I’m a ‘Dark Autumn’ colour season – if you know, you know).
I’m all for warm socks and stylish boots, layers, cosy knitwear and cardigans. And I love a good scarf and an autumn coat.
Having a bad hair day = no problem, chuck on a cosy hat. Autumn fashion also means less hair removal. I’m all for growing your own heat with furry legs for winter.
Autumn TV and films 2024
The autumn TV schedule starts which is usually awesome.
Upcoming TV shows this autumn include:
- Only Murders in the Building, season 5 – 9th September, Disney +
- Slow Horses, season 5, 24 September, Apple TV
- Big Brother returns – rumoured 28th September, ITV
- Celebrity Traitors: With the celebrity names they’ve got for this I can’t imagine it will be anything other than excellent. October, BBC
- Riot Women: Sally Wainwright’s (Happy Valley) comedy drama about a group of menopausal women who start a punk band in West Yorkshire. BBC 1, October
- Nobody Wants This, Season 2: I’m so pleased for once a show is returning quickly. It’s like the olden days where we only have to wait a year for the next season. I’m here for it. 23 October, Netflix
- Stranger Things, final season, 26 November, Netflix.
You can watch many great films and TV shows on Amazon prime video with a FREE 30 day trial here (affiliate link).
Some new films to look forward to this autumn include:
- Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale: Downton Abbey fans will be pleased to know there’s one last hurrah in store for the Crawley family in the third and final film from the Downton Abbey franchise. Now into the 1930s, the confirmed cast include Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery, and Paul Giamatti. Cinemas September 12th.
- Bugonia (released October 24th). Director Yorgos Lanthimos and actor Emma Stone have cemented an impeccable partnership via their Oscar-winning hits The Favourite (2019) and Poor Things (2024). Stone plays a pharmaceutical CEO who is kidnapped by two conspiracy theorists convinced that she’s about the destroy the world.
- Wicked: For Good: The second instalment in the story of Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo). Cinemas November 21st.
- Zootropolis 2: Plucky rabbit cop Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) who must go undercover with her sly fox sidekick Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) in Marsh Market to track down a mysterious reptile. Cinemas November 26th.
Don't forget to check out my blog post for the best family Halloween movies or Halloween TV shows for kids.
And if all else fails, you can re-watch Gilmore Girls – it doesn’t get more autumnal than that. Honourable mentions go to Downton Abbey and Virgin River for all the ‘fall feels’.
The best fall episodes of Gilmore Girls by season are:
- Season 1, episodes 6, 7, 8, 9
- Season 2, episodes 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10
- Season 3, episodes 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
- Season 4, episodes 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 22
- Season 5, episodes 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 19
- Season 6, episodes 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
- Season 7, episodes 4, 5, 6
- A Year in the Life, Fall
15 classic autumn films to rewatch to get you in the mood for fall are:
- Practical Magic
- When Harry Met Sally
- You’ve Got Mail
- St Elmo’s Fire
- Good Will Hunting
- Harry Potter
- The Craft
- Sweet November
- Hocus Pocus
- Mystic Pizza
- Little Women
- Autumn in New York
- Dead Poets Society
- Mona Lisa Smile
- Fantastic Mr Fox
You can watch many great films and TV shows on Amazon prime video with a FREE 30 day trial here (affiliate link).
So those are the top 8 things that I am looking for to autumn for. They are making it a little easier for me to say goodbye to the summer.
What are you looking forward to autumn most for? Let me know in the comments!
If you liked my reasons why fall is my favourite season, then you might also like my Guide to autumn and these posts:
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I’ve already started working on my furry legs! I love Autumn so much, I’m really hoping for lots of cold days with plenty of sunshine so I can wrap up and get walking!
#furryleggang oh those days are the best!
Absolutely love autumn! Conker hunting and hot chocolate afterwards, being able to stay in and enjoy a cosy weekend at home with no guilt that we “should” be out enjoying the weather… love it! 😀
It’s the best isn’t it?!
Amen to a furry leg blanket! Ha ha. This is such a great post. I’ve been more excited this year for Autumn than any other year – and I think it’s because I had SUCH fun last year. Definitely can’t wait for Bonfire Night and hoping for some fun days out wearing wellies and splashing in puddles.
Oh yay! We are kindred spirits!
I really thought summer this year was excellent, and the distinct change has made me really excited about autumn this year. That’s unusual for me, so much so that last week I bought my first ever fluffy throw!!!
Oooh gotta love a fleecy throw
I do love Autumn. It is full of excitement and does feel like a new start.
I’d forgotten that His Dark Materials is coming back with the 2nd series. I did like that show and I’ve just seen Bake Off advertised on TV, coming soon! x