When Does Fall Start 2016? Facts For The Beginning Of Autumn

Now that Labor Day weekend has come and gone, you may be wondering when fall formally begins. Leaf peepers, rejoice: You only have to wait a few more days before the season starts.

The fall equinox is scheduled to occur Sept. 22 at 10:21 a.m. EDT, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. The equinox, which refers to the time of year where night and day are about equally long, will usher in autumn. Summer will be officially over, but don't fret — fall means Halloween, Thanksgiving, pumpkin spice lattes, chunky sweaters, cooler temperatures and colorful leaves.

As you await the start of the season, here are 10 facts about fall:

British people are more likely to call it "autumn," according to Grammarist. "Fall," mostly used in the United States, is an abbreviation of the term "fall of the leaf."

The season will last until Dec. 21 at 5:44 a.m. EST, at which point winter will begin.

New England gets about $3 billion from tourists traveling to see the colorful leaves, the Associated Press reported. New Hampshire alone sees about 8 million visitors a year.

For birds, fall is the peak of migration to the south for warmer winter temperatures. Such migration starts at the end of June and can extend through December, Audubon Magazine reported.

Urban legend has it you can balance an egg on its top or bottom on the equinox, but this isn't unusual — people just don't try to balance eggs as much on other days of the year, according to Snopes.

In 2303, the equinox will fall on Sept. 24 for the first time since 1931, according to LiveScience.

NASA calls autumn "aurora season" because it sees more geomagnetic storms, which allow people to spot the Northern Lights during that time.

Fall in Australia lasts from March to May.

Nearly 30 percent of Americans say their favorite season is fall, according to a 2013 YouGov survey.

The MLB's World Series is held in the fall each year. The 2016 postseason tournament will kick off Oct. 25.