Autumn equinox

The Autumn equinox is the first day of autumn. Equinox refers to the time of year when night and day are exactly the same length; as well as the autumn equinox, there is also a spring (vernal) equinox.  The autumn equinox marks the start of a series of autumn festivals, often associated with harvest, and the death of the old year as a precursor to winter. These occur all around the world, and include the harvest and rice festivals of Asia, India’s celebrated Festival of Lights (Diwali), the Thanksgiving festivals in North America and western European remnants of pagan festivals such as Halloween.