Figuring Out That Fall Equinox Thing

Truman starts big school – Kindergarten – this fall. Actually, that’s not entirely true. He starts August 10th, which is still technically summer. In fact, it’s more than a month from fall, which doesn’t come official until the autumnal equinox, which falls on September 22nd this year. At 5:18 p.m. EDT, to be exact.

He's got the whole world in his hands.

Of course, that applies only to those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere. Those in the Southern Hemisphere celebrated their autumnal equinox on March 20th. And, I understand, Australia and New Zealand got the earliest start, celebrating the first day of fall on March 1.

I’m trying to explain this to Truman, for some reason. He has a good understanding of the globe and where all the continents and countries are located, but explaining that season-difference-among-the-hemispheres thing is a little confusing. (Is it true that toilets swirl the other way down there?) No worries, though. It’ll just give his teachers more to teach him when he starts school this fall. I mean, this summer. In August.

Photo, JWJourney