The First Day of Fall

Today is the autumn equinox — the first official day of fall, arriving this evening at 8:04 Eastern. And I love that this year it lands on a Tuesday. The great turning of the seasons, assigned to the most ordinary day of the week. That feels exactly right.

Here’s what the equinox actually is: the moment of balance. Day and night, nearly equal, everywhere on Earth at once. For one day, the light and the dark hold each other evenly — and then, gently, the balance tips toward the dark half of the year.

People hear that and feel a little melancholy, but consider the reframe: everything cozy lives in the dark half. The soup, the sweaters, the early evenings in, the candles, the gathering, the porch light meaning more because the dark comes sooner. The dark half of the year is when warmth gets deliberate — when you stop receiving light passively and start making it yourself.

Happy first day of fall. The making-your-own-light season starts tonight.

The dark half of the year is when warmth gets deliberate — when you start making the light yourself.

What’s your favorite way of making your own light in the darker months?