When Is The First Day Of Fall 2023? Ways To Celebrate Autumn In PA

PENNSYLVANIA— Fall is here, bringing with it the chance to gather ripe apples, pick pumpkins, and enjoy the beautiful changing of the seasons in Pennsylvania.

The equinox officially ushers in the new season and its promise of crisp air, show-stopping fall foliage, and cool evenings just perfect for sitting around a fire pit, or perhaps taking in a half-dozen fall and winter meteor showers.

There are plenty of chances in the Keystone State to play in the sunshine before the cold of winter creeps in (the winter solstice is Thursday, Dec. 21, if you’re keeping track on the calendar). It's prime time to go to apple orchards. Pumpkins are ripening on the vine. Farmers are cutting mazes into their cornfields to entertain local families.

We could fill several cornucopias with all the events going on in Pennsylvania so here is an “early harvest” of things going on as we welcome the official first day of fall: Saturday, Sept. 23.

Patch recommends checking with event organizers for any weather-related postponements or cancellations.

Bucks County

Fall Festival Weekends At Charlann Farms

• 586 Stony Hill Rd, Morrisville
• Sept. 23 to Oct. 29 (Saturdays and Sundays), from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Fall Fest At Shady Brook Farm

• 931 Stony Hill Rd, Yardley
• Sept. 8 to Oct. 29 (weekends and select dates)

New Britain Township Annual Fall Festival

• North Branch Park, 207 Park Ave., Chalfont
• Saturday, Sept. 23 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Scarecrows in the Village

• Peddler’s Village, Lahaska
• Sept. 11 – Oct. 29

Chester County

Bistro on Bridge’s Oktoberfest Celebration

• 212 Bridge St., Phoenixville
• Saturday, Sept. 23 at 11 a.m.

Downingtown Fall Fest

• Sunday, Sept. 24 from 11 am to 4 pm
• Green St. & E Pennsylvania Ave., Downingtown

Kennett Brewfest

• 600 S. Broad St., Kennett Square
• Saturday, Oct. 7 from 1:30 to 5 p.m.

Oktoberfest Main Line

• Good Samaritan Field (212 W. Lancaster Ave.), Paoli
• Saturday, Oct. 7 from 12 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Delaware County

Fall for Ardmore - celebrating 150 years of Ardmore

• Schauffele Plaza (99 Cricket Terr.), Ardmore
• Saturday, Sept. 30 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Fright Fest and Delco's Arcade of Unearthly Delights

• Media Community Center
• Saturday, Sept. 30. Events from 12 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 11 p.m.

Montgomery County

Autumn and Artisan Festival at Lundale Farm

• 2501 Pottstown Pike, Pottstown
• Saturday, Sept. 23 beginning at 3 p.m.

Fall for Ardmore - celebrating 150 years of Ardmore

• Schauffele Plaza (99 Cricket Terr.), Ardmore
• Saturday, Sept. 30 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Philadelphia County

16th annual Midtown Village Fall Festival

• Midtown Village, Philadelphia (various locations on 13th Street, Chestnut Street, Drury Street, Sanson Street, and Chancellor Street)
• Saturday, Sept. 30 from 12 to 8 p.m.

2023 Roxtoberfest

• Ridge Avenue (between Lyceum and Leverington Avenues), Philadelphia
• Saturday, Oct. 7 from 12 to 6 p.m.

Old City Fest

• Old City, Philadelphia (along North Third Street and Arch Street)
• Sunday, Oct. 8 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

When is the autumn equinox, exactly?

The autumnal equinox isn’t a daylong event but rather occurs at the exact moment the sun crosses the celestial equator — that’s at 2:50 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Sept. 23.

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, EarthSky reported.

Speaking of daylight, it’ll be time for the twice annual clock-changing ritual before you know it. Daylight saving time ends Sunday, Nov. 5. You may recall legislation for year-round daylight saving time sailed through the Senate, but the issue is far from settled in the House.

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

1. There’s no guarantee, of course, but the chances of seeing stunning northern lights 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. And right now, the chances of seeing auroras are greater as the sun approaches “solar maximum” in its 11-year cycle and the number of sunspots ramps up.

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, according to Space.com.

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 365-¼ 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 to start winterizing homes against stink bugs and other insects and buttoning up other things outside. It’s rutting — or mating — season for deer, elk and moose, and 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 mudholes to wait out the winter. Chipmunks retreat to their underground tunnels. Bears eat and drink almost nonstop as they prepare for hibernation.

Patch’s national desk contributed to this report.

Related articles:

• Fall Foliage Map 2023: See When Autumn Leaves Peak In PA
• Aurora Borealis Displays More Likely In Active Solar Storm Season
• Aurora Borealis Hunting: What’s A Kp Index, More Northern Lights Tips
• 2023 Guide To Meteor Showers, Supermoons And Other Celestial Events