Earlier this week, I dreamed I was in Greenland and it was getting dark after only five hours of daylight. I was in a panic about when I was supposed to sleep and for how long.
The next morning, I did some internet research about circadian rhythms, geographic regions that experience extended periods of darkness, and how it affects individuals that live in that area. But that’s a blog for a different day because I was also alerted to the fact that the autumnal equinox occurred this week. The autumnal equinox is the northern hemisphere day with roughly equal daylight and darkness, and it fell on September 22, 2026. It occurred at 8:05pm EDT giving about 12 hours of light and 12 hours of night.
According to Alexa, the autumnal equinox isn’t just a 12-hour balance; it’s the exact moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator, ending winter’s tilt. Because of atmospheric refraction and the Sun’s size, most places still get a bit more daylight than at night. It also lines up Earth’s magnetic field for stronger geomagnetic activity, making auroras more like around this time.
Wow, Alexa! That’s a big answer to my little question of, “Which day has equal daylight and darkness hours?” but okay. Thanks.
I know a lot of people dread the shorter days, and I understand. My other half (MOH) has always been one of those folks that gets bummed out when the days get shorter, knowing the cold days of winter are next. But some activities are just better in the dark.
High school football games. It’s dusk on a cool Friday evening. I’m standing in line at the field gate with my middle school friends waiting to be admitted and get our hands stamped so we can come can and go through the gate. We’re wearing sweatshirts and Jordache jeans with $5 in one back pocket and a Goody Unbreakable Super Comb in the other.
The marching band is warming up, and I can feel the thump of the bass drum in my chest. The smell of hotdogs and popcorn reaches out from the concession stand. We’ll spend half of the game sitting in the cheering section and the other half running around under the bleachers, begging money off somebody’s mom for snacks at the concession.
That was my first taste of independence, at the football games, hanging with friends, out and about after dark.
Snipe hunting. This activity does not top my list of important wait-until-dark shenanigans, but MOH tells me that snipe hunting belongs on the list. Snipe hunt activity planners (often older siblings or camp counsellors) take unsuspecting newcomers into the woods at night. The newbie is then given a paper bag and a flashlight and told to hold the bag open – making silly unintelligible noises – in hopes of luring the elusive snipe into the paper bag with the beam of the flashlight. The unsuspecting snipe hunter spends his evening snipe hunting while everyone else in the group heads back to the campfire to enjoy a good laugh.
Campfires/bonfires. Fires are meant to burn bright in the darkness. When I was a kid, campfires were always one of my favorite parts of summer vacation, whether it was on the beach at my aunt’s cottage or at the end of the day at the campground. My favorite campfire memories include sing-alongs. We’d sing about Mrs. O’Leary who left a lantern in the shed, Found a Peanut, and John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. (His name is my name too.) I was never a talented singer and always wished I could harmonize like my parents did on You Are My Sunshine or Play a Simple Melody, but I couldn’t even hold my own in a round of Row, Row, Row Your Boat. I had to plug my ears (which devalues the enjoyment of singing in a round) or I would be singing the exact same verse as the person sitting beside me. Ah well.
Many years later, my favorite part of camping was still the campfire, and as an adult, I was the one that got to make them. I considered it a challenge to make the best fires, and I can make you an awesome fire which may include a second story of firewood or a burning holey log.
Hayrides. I’m not talking about a daytime wagon ride like I see at some pumpkin patches/apple orchards these days, with steps up to a wagon complete with bench seats. I’m talking about a friend’s dad’s flat-bed hay wagon with no side rails, twenty plus bales of straw and a floor that can deliver a six-inch wooden sliver in the blink of an eye to the uninitiated.
I can still smell the apple cider and donuts that were waiting for us at the end of our trek across harvested dark fields. We’d stare at the moonlit skies, trying to recognize constellations and telling stories of murderers who escaped from prison to hide in corn fields and prey on kids on hayrides. Older kids would hop on and off the wagon like we were on a big city tour bus, then cut through the field to try to jump on later and scare everyone.
Trick or treating. I know, I know. Safety dictates that trick or treating should be done in daylight and it’s also very popular now to trunk or treat. But some of my favorite memories involve bumping along in the dark – in part because I couldn’t see a thing through the tiny holes of my plastic mask – holding the hand of my mom or my sister and gathering treats around the neighborhood. Back at home, my dad would always be handy to take away any Good-n-Plenty or Slo-pokes that I got. My favorites were popcorn balls (yes, we ate homemade treats from people we didn’t know) and peanut butter kisses.
Halloween weather was always unpredictable, and I can remember miserable rainy nights when we begged to be allowed to go without an umbrella that would only slow us down. Other years it was so cold that my mom tried to force my costume over the top of my snowsuit.
So, bring it on, Autumnal Equinox! I’m not ready for winter, but I’m ready for shorter days, apple cider, sweatshirt weather, and football games. Maybe I’ll even catch a snipe.
This is great…such memories!!!
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