Welcome to Current Events Conversation, where each week we round up some of our favorite responses to one of our student writing prompts.
From the annual “Gilmore Girls” rewatch to leaf peeping across North America and pumpkin festivals in Europe, The New York Times has been reporting on the many ways people in the Northern Hemisphere are welcoming autumn.
We asked students to share their own fall rituals: What traditions do you treasure? What holidays do you celebrate? And what sights, sounds, and smells signal the arrival of the season where you live?
They told us about comfort TV shows and cozy movies, apple picking and pumpkin carving, soup-making and treat-baking, leaves crunching and air cooling. Plus, they shared their fall holiday celebrations from around the world, including Halloween, Thanksgiving, Día de los Muertos, Tihar, the Mid-Autumn Festival and more.
Thank you to all who joined the conversation this week, including students from Sig Rogich Middle School in Las Vegas, as well as Canada, India, Nepal and Taiwan.
Please note: Comments have been edited and condensed.
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Some students wrote about welcoming the season with cozy TV shows and movies.
My fall tradition definitely is baking some kind of cinnamon cookie while watching the first episodes of “Gilmore Girls” on the first of September. I can’t even count how many times I’ve rewatched this series. It brings some kind of comfort to the cold and breezy fall days.
My favorite ritual to participate in each autumn is to cozy up in bed with my cat and a mug of tea or hot chocolate and watch “Over the Garden Wall.” I love how calming and visually pleasing the show is, with its hand-drawn charm and catchy songs. I enjoy spending time with my cat while I watch the show, and I like to think that she enjoys spending time with me, too. She will sometimes curl up next to me and purr, and we get to spend a chilly autumn afternoon bundled up inside, warm and content, and occasionally we won’t leave my room for the whole day, just us two and our own little world.
One fall ritual I do each year is rewatch “When Harry Met Sally” with my mom as soon as the weather chills and the leaves start to turn. Similarly to “Gilmore Girls,” “When Harry Met Sally” has the same feelings of “weather cooling” …
The tradition in my family is that on October 1st, we watch “Jeepers Creepers,” as when I was younger that was my first horror movie and my dad’s favorite as he loved the look of the Creeper as it just brought out fear in people. It definitely scared me when I was younger and my dad, while I was terrified, would just laugh at me being scared and I think that’s why it’s a tradition for my family as it brings me memories and my dad too of us laughing about the characters and the plot of the stories.
— Joseph, Polytechnic Magnet High School
Others said they take in fall through the senses.
The crispy autumn leaves that cover Rittenhouse, the breeze that paints the city yellow, orange, and red, and the smell of smooth hot chocolate lingering in doorway openings, as people exit a soft quiet cafe; these are all the things that signal to me it is fall in Philadelphia. The satisfying feeling of my Ugg boots causing crackles in the leaf ridden streets, guiding me over steamy sewers, and keeping my feet warm amid the breeze, is something I only experience once a year. For me fall is sensory play; it stimulates thought and tranquillity, connecting me with nature and the world around me.
— Yassmine, Abington Friends School
I love the coolness of autumn. It isn’t as loud as summer, nor as cold as winter — it’s a quiet kind of air, with a hint of fragrance in it. The wind turns cooler and brushes softly against my face, and the sunlight becomes golden. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, my family sits on the balcony, eating mooncakes and talking together. I can smell the sweet scent of osmanthus in the air.
— Yihan, Sig Rogich Middle School
For me the arrival of fall is when the leaves start to turn an orange-ish yellow-ish and start to develop a crispness, along with the cold mornings when the sky becomes a deep dark blue. And it’s cold enough to where you can see your breath in front of you. When leaving your house in the morning you’ll have to put on a light jacket or something because otherwise you’ll be freezing from the autumn wind. Because it’s like 50 degrees during fall and it rains constantly. That’s my description of fall, that turning point of the season. That’s how I know, among other things, that summer is over and fall is here.
Many talked about the foods and flavors they look forward to this time of year.
Every fall marks the beginning of what I lovingly call “The Great Soup Marathon.” Along with my help, my mother makes three or four fall themed soups to accompany the next few weeks or so. This year saw a delicate rustic orange squash soup and a cream-colored cauliflower and fennel soup. A hearty ham and bean soup is soon to come, because it’s a favorite in our household. Soup brings warmth as the wind chills the outside weather …
For me, a Japanese, fall is the “gourmet season.” I love to eat the seasonal ingredients of fall. For instance, pacific saury is my favorite fish. It is commonly eaten grilled with grated daikon radish and soy sauce. I like to add soy sauce with citrus juice. Moreover, seasoned rice is also symbol of gourmet season. Rice seasoned and cooked with various ingredients; mushrooms, salmon, chicken, and sweet potato.
The ritual I like to do, and probably many others do too, is baking and cooking things that feel like fall. I love to bake brown butter chocolate chip cookies, specifically because the rich brown butter that smells like caramel (it smells soo good) just makes the cookies more fall-like to me. Another thing I like to make is creamy tomato and gnocchi soup. Though it is very rich, when I found this recipe on Pinterest while trying to find something to make for dinner that was fall-related I stumbled upon this. Tomato soup is already super fall-like to me but with the soft pillowy gnocchi, a game changer!
I also love getting the iconic Starbucks’ Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte. It’s kind of my sign that fall has officially started. Pumpkin flavored treats are my go to every year, and they always remind me of warmth and comfort.
Several said autumn is for sports and getting outside.
One ritual I take with me each autumn has got to be my walks and runs. My favorite part of the fall is watching all of the leaves change from green to the shades of red, orange, and yellow. We are very privileged with having an amazing prairie path that’s open to the public to walk, run, and bike; it’s a great way to enjoy the season.
For me, fall is defined by three key rituals: fall golf, watching NFL RedZone, and family dinners. Fall golf is so special to me because it is a tradition I share with my family and my friends. We go out and play a few rounds over the season. The course is in pristine condition and the scenery is stunning. What comes to mind second when I think of fall, is N.F.L. football. As a fantasy football player, watching NFL RedZone keeps me up-to-date and is a key ingredient in a fulfilling fall day.
My fall ritual is watching sports. Fall is the only time when you can watch postseason baseball, the first couple of games in the NBA, and also the football season. This weekend, I get to enjoy watching the Dodgers play. After that, I’ll switch to basketball, and when the game finishes, I’ll turn on Sunday Night Football.
The beginning of fall often marks the beginning of hunting season for many animals. At around the beginning of September, grouse season opens. My dad and I usually go during the Thanksgiving long weekend. This works perfect because we can make a special dinner with the animal(s) we killed and prepared ourselves. We share the meal with whoever’s with us; bringing family together, as well as reminding us to be thankful about our food.
Others shared the annual family rituals they participate in.
Fall is my favorite season for many reasons but I think that the family traditions throughout this time are what solidifies my opinion. I love the classic activities like baking and apple picking, and even though it’s cliché, my favorite tradition of all: Pumpkin carving. There’s just something about being with all of my family and carving a jagged face into a big orange pumpkin that always puts a smile on my face.
— Delaney, Glenbard West High School
Every autumn, my family and I go apple picking — a tradition that’s been a part of our lives for as long as I remember. We go to the same apple orchard each year. The crisp air and the rows of apple trees bring a wave of nostalgia every time, it feels like stepping back into my childhood. The stomach ache I get from eating so many apples never gets old because of course I have to taste test every single kind of apple. Although I’ve grown up and my life has gotten busy, that one day at the apple orchard every year makes me appreciate simple moments and soak in time with my family.
My top favorite might be putting decorations with my dad. We put lots of decorations every holiday while listening to music appropriate for the season. I’ve been doing that every year with him, and I’ll miss it when I go to live on my own someday!
— Aliza, Montclair High School CA
My favorite tradition that I participate in every autumn is my family’s annual trip to Tucson, Arizona during Thanksgiving break. My mom’s sister and her family live there, so we use every Thanksgiving break as a chance to go visit them, along with my other cousins and my grandparents. The morning we leave, we load the car full of food and all our belongings and start the eight-hour drive east. We stop to meet our cousins every time in Yuma for lunch, and then continue the rest of the way to Tucson. Once there, my family does a lot of activities, but my favorite thing is always the food.
— Gavin, Fountain Valley High School
And many talked about the holiday traditions that define the season.
One of the most important holidays I celebrate in the fall is Tihar, which is among the biggest and most widely celebrated festivals in Nepal. Tihar is a vibrant festival of lights, during which we honor animals such as crows, dogs and cows, as well as our elders and the bonds of family and community. This celebration not only brings immense happiness but also strengthens our cultural traditions and sense of togetherness.
Fall carries deep history and tradition for us Odias, and we await it every year. It brings festivals, puja, fairs, lights, crackers, sweets, and the warmth of family togetherness. For me, it is especially dear; we are celebrated for our culture and festivities, as the phrase goes, “Bara masare Tera parba.” In coastal Odisha, the air turns slightly cold, and Kashatandi flowers bloom across fields in their white serenity, while homes fill with the aroma of food and laughter as families gather.
Something me, some of my family, and my girlfriend celebrate during fall is Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos. We celebrate through setting up something called an ofrenda: An ofrenda is sort of like a shrine where you set up pictures of your relatives that have passed on. You adorn it with colorful decorations, marigolds, and food. It holds a deep significance to me because setting up the ofrenda shows that you remember who came before you and won’t forget the memory of them.
Around Halloween, I love when all my friends get together, whether it’s for a small hangout or a sleepover. Every year, I usually match costumes with my best friends, and we always end up laughing at how much effort we put into them. Those little traditions make the season feel special and full of good memories.
My family has one of the most obscure yet wholesome fall traditions: the fruit game. Every year at Thanksgiving, my family members sit in a circle on the floor to play a game that my Grandma learned at a nurses’ club decades ago. To play the game in person stands in the center of the circle holding a paper bag filled with air, while everyone else declares what fruit they are. Then the person in the center tries to hit someone on the head with the paper bag. The only way to stop them is if the player who is about to be hit calls out the name of another person’s fruit, who the center person must now try and hit. If the center player is successful in hitting the person, they swap roles and the center player adopts that fruit.
By the end, no one can remember what fruit they are, and my entire family is doubled over laughing. Even though the tradition started as my Grandma’s way to entertain her young grandchildren at family functions, as my cousins and I grow older, as people graduate or move away, we still come together once a year. A few years ago, we taught my cousin’s fiancé the fruit game, and she now plays with us every year. Actor Scott Patterson said fall is “when families should be coming together.” For my family, all it takes is a paper bag and hollering “BANANA” at the top of our lungs to connect generations.
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