When Is The First Day Of Fall 2021? Events In Oak Forest

OAK FOREST, IL — Whether you love it for that first sip of hot apple cider, crisp nights around a bonfire or trick-or-treating with your kids, fall is just around the corner in Oak Forest.

No matter how you choose to mark the arrival of falling leaves and cooler weather, the first day of fall is Wednesday, Sept. 22.

The autumnal equinox isn’t a daylong event but rather occurs at the exact moment the sun crosses the celestial equator — that’s at 2:21 p.m. Central Daylight Time.

However, the best parts of fall arguably last the entire season. While the coronavirus pandemic undeniably altered fall last year, many of your favorite activities are returning in full force this year.

SEE ALSO: 2021 Fall Foliage Peak Map: When Leaves Are Best Across America

Whether it’s a well-loved community celebration or a simple Friday spent at a high school football game, here are a few fall events to look forward to in Oak Forest this fall:

• Chicago Gaelic Park Annual Golf Outing — $120 per golfer. Prizes, dinner + drinks at Gaelic Park immediately follow the end of playing.
• Action Sertoma's 16th Annual Rocktoberfest — Friday, Oct. 15 at Chicago Gaelic Park: 6119 W. 147th Street Oak Forest.
• Fight Against Childhood Cancer Night — The Oak Forest High School Soccer team will be holding a fundraiser at their game on Wednesday, Sept. 22.

The word equinox comes from the Latin words “aequus,” which means “equal,” and “nox,” which means night. That’s led to the perception that everyone worldwide sees the same amount of daylight and nighttime, but it’s not the absolute truth. To be precise, daylight lasts about eight minutes longer than nighttime on the day of the equinox.

Here are five other things to know about the September equinox:

1. It’s not guaranteed, but the chances of seeing stunning aurora borealis displays increase after the fall equinox, according to NASA. Both the spring and fall equinoxes are good aurora seasons, but autumn produces a surplus of geomagnetic storms — almost twice the annual average.

2. The date of the September equinox varies. Usually, it’s on the 22nd, as it is this year, or the 23rd, but it can occur as early as Sept. 21 or as late as Sept. 24.

A Sept. 21 autumnal equinox hasn’t occurred in several millennia, but some folks alive today may see it the next couple of times it rolls around, in 2092 and then again four years later in 2096. And the first day of fall hasn’t fallen on Sept. 24 since 1931, and that won’t happen again until 2303.

Here’s the reason: A year is defined as 365 days by the Gregorian calendar, but it takes the Earth 365¼ days to orbit the sun. What this means is the autumnal equinox occurs about six hours later than it did the year prior, which eventually moves the date by a day.

3. Thank Canada for spectacular fall sunsets with more vivid pinks, reds and oranges than at any other time of the year. The Weather Channel offers an explanation: As dry, clean Canadian air begins to sweep across the country, fewer colors of the rainbow spectrum are scattered by air molecules. That means the reds, oranges, yellows and pinks make it through for your sunset-viewing pleasure.

4. No matter where you are in the world, the sun will rise due east and set due west during the fall equinox (the same thing happens during the spring equinox). For the directionally challenged, it’s a good time for a reset. Go outside around sunset or sunrise, find a landmark and mark the sun’s location in relation to it.

5. Fall isn’t just a time for the human world to start buttoning things up outside. It’s rutting — or mating — season for deer, elk and moose. Males will battle it out by thrusting their antlers together until one of them gives up or dies.

Swans, geese and ducks begin their migration south. Frogs burrow deep into mud holes to wait out the winter. Chipmunks retreat to their underground tunnels. Bears eat and drink almost nonstop as they prepare for hibernation.

One thing is for sure — take advantage of the sunshine before the cold of winter creeps in. The winter solstice is Tuesday, Dec. 21, just in case you’re keeping track.