Thank you for not promoting the ridiculous meme that this is the first day of autumn.

Shorter days are ahead. Blech. On the other hand, fall in the Midwest is generally pretty nice.

Isn't it? It may not have been the first full day of the season, but I do not think it would be "ridiculous" for someone to call it the first day of Fall (or "Autumn").

The meaning of the seasons is the life cycle of plants. Autumn is when the leaves of deciduous trees turn colors and fall off. Spring is when the trees sprout new leaves and blossoms, when the daffodils come up, etc. This happens at different times in different places, and at different times in different years. There's no benefit to standardizing this; it's not like we use them for quarterly financial reports or anything. The whole "first day of autumn" thing was invented by Hallmark and other calendar makers. It's like putting a mark on your clock face at 6:00 saying "sunrise."

Hmmm. I always figured summer ran from summer solstice to autumnal equinox, fall ran from autumnal equinox to winter solstice, winter ran from winter solstice to vernal equinox, and spring ran from vernal equinox to summer solstice.

Is that not correct?

"The meaning of the seasons is the life cycle of plants. Autumn is when the leaves of deciduous trees turn colors and fall off."

Where did you get this from? The most common usage of season is a division of the year, which for convenience's sake in the US has been to designate the time between the solstices and equinoxes. I agree that 'season' is not well-defined, but I think your assertion that it is determined by the life cycle of plants is, to quote you, ridiculous. So yes, yesterday was the first day of Autumn in the United States; different countries have differing start and stop times for their seasons.

Created by Hallmark? Ha, I for one have never received a 'Welcome to Autumn' card (although I'm sure they exist)...

I can't believe you didn't use auspicious event as an opportunity to talk about the relaunch of blogs4God ...

... kidding aside, what about _MY_ needs?-)

Oh well, can't be bothered with that now, gotta get naked, paint myself blue and howl at the moon.

Straight Dope column on this topic

The problem is that you are telling us that it is incorrect (and "ridiculous") for a specific date to be popularly or "officially" designated as the beginning of a season, even though the popular understanding is the only thing that gives the seasons any precise meaning. You said above that the seasons are defined by the life cycle of plants, but why is it less appropriate for the seasons to be defined by average temperature, length of day (which they are not), or by whether daylight is increasing or decreasing?

There is an official beginning for each season, but it is only official because people commonly define the seasons that way (regardless of whatever Hallmark's role may have been in shaping that practice), and for an idea as common (in the sense that it belongs to the "common man") as the seasons, popular usage decides the definition. In the United States, at least, we have defined the seasons in reference to a couple of these. To say that this is wrong or "ridiculous" is like arguing with an English guy over what "chips" really are.

Thank you Karl for that venture into the po-mo mindset.

You're welcome, but I think it is a simple idea that the meaning of words is set by the people who use them.