Many people consider fall the best of seasons because we get relief from the heat and see the kids go back to school where they belong. And of course there's Halloween. But when you think about it, the whole season is full of traditions, from bonfires to football to Black Friday shopping. Some are ancient while others were dreamed up fairly recently because anything that's fun tends to be repeated. Many came out of harvest festivals as a way to show off and indulge in a bountiful crop of one sort or another. Others needs some further explanation. For example, the US holds elections on the first Tuesday in November because that made it convenient for farmers to participate. Black Friday is said to be the day that business are finally "in the black" for the year and the rest is profit, but that's not the origin of the tradition or the term. Read about 25 autumn traditions and where they came from at Mental Floss.
(Image credit: Caleb Zahnd)