It's the first day of fall: Here's why you should love it

The autumnal equinox is that perfect day of balance between night and day.

ByJoyeeta Biswas
September 22, 2018, 2:20 PM

Welcome to fall, folks.

Today is the first day of everyone's favorite season.

PHOTO: People sit among Aspen trees turned gold on the Autumn Equinox in the northern hemisphere near Nederland, Colo., Sept. 22, 2017.
People sit among Aspen trees turned gold on the Autumn Equinox in the northern hemisphere near Nederland, Colo., Sept. 22, 2017.
Rick Wilking/Reuters, FILE

September 22 is the autumnal equinox, the official date fall arrives in the U.S. this year, and you can almost smell the change in the air.

PHOTO: A couple walk their dogs on the beach as the sun sets on the Autumn Equinox, which marks the first day of Autumn, Sept. 23, 2015, in Saltburn, England.
A couple walk their dogs on the beach as the sun sets on the Autumn Equinox, which marks the first day of Autumn, Sept. 23, 2015, in Saltburn, England.
Ian Forsyth/Getty Images, FILE

It's a day that brings with it the promise of pumpkin pies and crackling leaves, football games and cozy sweaters and that long-awaited upcoming stretch of festivities, from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas and New Year.

And there's another reason it's special -- it's the day sunlight and darkness are in absolute harmony.

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ABC News photo editors chose the best news images of the week for this collection. <br><br>Muslim Shiite women mourn during the holy day of Ashoura, at the Sadat Akhavi Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Sept. 20, 2018. Ashoura is the annual Shiite commemoration of the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the 7th century Battle of Karbala in present-day Iraq.
Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

    The autumnal equinox is that perfect day of balance between night and day -- 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. From now on, because of Earth's rotation around its tilted axis, for those in the Northern hemisphere, the nights will start being longer than the days.

    There's only one other day like it -- the day when winter ends and summer begins above the equator, called vernal equinox.

    PHOTO: The autumn sun shines onto Glastonbury Tor near Glastonbury, Sept. 22, 2017, in Somerset, England on the Autumn Equinox.
    The autumn sun shines onto Glastonbury Tor near Glastonbury, Sept. 22, 2017, in Somerset, England on the Autumn Equinox.
    Matt Cardy/Getty Images, FILE

    Next year, it's on March 20.

    PHOTO: Early morning mist lingers in fields as the autumn sun rises over the Somerset Levels on the Autumn Equinox near Glastonbury, Sept. 22, 2017, in Somerset, England.
    Early morning mist lingers in fields as the autumn sun rises over the Somerset Levels on the Autumn Equinox near Glastonbury, Sept. 22, 2017, in Somerset, England.
    Matt Cardy/Getty Images, FILE

    But today you don't need to worry about that. Today is a delight for anyone with a love for symmetry and who's ready to embrace the season of change.