Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving each October. While October may not be home to Thanksgiving in the United States, Americans, much like their Canadian counterparts, have much to be thankful for in the tenth month of the calendar year. Fall temperatures tend to be at their most accommodating in October, which also happens to be home to Halloween. Those are not the only interesting and fun facts about this popular month.
1. October has something of a misleading name. Licensed drivers undoubtedly know that the prefix “octo” means eight, which is why Stop signs are octagons. So why does October, the tenth month of the year, have a name that suggests it should be the eighth month of the year? That peculiarity can be traced to the early Roman calendar, which featured just 10 months, the eighth of which was October. The Romans eventually converted to a 12-month calendar, and October kept its name despite becoming the tenth month of that calendar.
2. Some notable individuals have holidays in their honor in October, including two on the same day. This year, Monday October 9, 2023, is both Columbus Day and Leif Erikson Day. It’s fitting that each figure’s holiday falls on the same day, as both are among history’s more well-known explorers. Columbus Day commemorates the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492, while Leif Erikson Day celebrates a man believed to be the first known European to set foot in continental North America.
3. Columbus Day might court its fare of fanfare (and controversy), but its popularity cannot match that of October’s most beloved day to celebrate: Halloween. Halloween is celebrated on October 31 and History. com notes this can be traced to ancient Celts. The Celts celebrated the festival of Samhain on October 31, the night before their new year. They did this because they believed that night marked the return of the ghosts of the dead to earth. That emphasis on the ghoulish is present each Halloween as well.
4. October is considered a great time of year to take a road trip, and much of that reputation can be traced to fall foliage. Leaves begin to change color in many regions in early October, and the resulting colorful landscape is beautiful to behold. Though some may presume the shift in color in October is due to the month’s typical drop in temperature, it’s actually due to a decrease in sunlight. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, leaves begin to lose their green color when photosynthesis from sunlight slows down, which happens because the hours of daylight dwindle considerably during the month of October. That lack of sunlight causes chlorophyll to break down, which in turn causes leaves to change color. But not all leaves will look the same, as any leaf-peeping pro will know. Some leaves turn red, while others turn brown, orange or yellow. The trees that turn red get more direct sunlight in October, while those that get less direct sunlight turn brown, orange or yellow.
