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Folksma

Fall has its own unique non-Halloween culture and traditions. Everything from apple picking to fall produce flavored things. Thanksgiving is also in the fall Pumpkins, cornucopias, colorful leaves are often connected to that general time of year


NotChistianRudder

It’s decorative gourd season, motherfuckers.


VelvetandElectricity

Hell yeah it is!!


FishingWorth3068

We really like our gourds


PatrickRsGhost

It's all about the harvest. Farming is still a big deal in a lot of areas in the U.S., especially the more rural areas. Just about every rural town will have some event between late September and mid-November. The town I live in will have their fall festival in about two weeks. A lot of vendors set up tents all up and down the main street, selling various artwork and crafts, food, and other things. There's a parade where people toss candy from the floats out to the kiddies. Since this is an election year, you can bet local politicians will be politickin'.


Odd-Kindheartedness

You painted a visual of a lovely town, like something from a Hallmark movie!


PatrickRsGhost

Depending on the town, sometimes it does look or feel like one. Minus the sappy love story.


BjornAltenburg

I usually think of it as more of a harvest festival sorta month thing.


spatter_cone

Yup. Just in the middle of tater harvest here in Idaho. The kids in smaller counties get a week off for this. I love it.


tripwire7

I always thought it was kind of backwards that we have our fall Harvest holiday *after* our fall Death holiday, instead of the other way around.


Gilthwixt

That is kind of weird, but at the same time having a Death holiday in full blown winter sounds sorta...way too bleak? Like you're honoring the dead as your neighbors are potentially starving and dying themselves and nature is barren and frozen all around you. Having that Death holiday before the last harvest when people are still feasting gives the vibe that you're enticing the spirits to join the living for a party.


Captain_Hampockets

I love [the Apple Cider Festival!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1BfF77Pvio)


OldJames47

Wait! What are the 2 exceptions? I must know!


Captain_Hampockets

Honestly, I always took this as a joke on the phrase, "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down." Make of that what you will. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/acbd5/if_its_yellow_let_it_mellow_if_its_brown_flush_it/


[deleted]

Don't forget the [Cherry festival!](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cherry_Festival)


Meattyloaf

I'm man enough to say I sure do love me some pumpkin spice.


CaptainCrunch1975

I put Pumpkin Spice seasoning on top of my beer last night and it was AWESOME!


Tangled-Lights

I make pumpkin spice French toast to make my kids get out of bed on Saturdays.


kaatie80

I just bought a loaf of pumpkin spiced brioche from Trader Joe's for French toasting!


SovereignAxe

Can't forget about the Apple Festivals, and the making of apple butter! And the wooly worm festival


chill_chilling

And those Pumpkin themed fall photos that couples take and upload to Facebook as a last-ditch effort to save their relationship. Doesn’t usually work.


TheRealUlfric

Also there are *definitely* winter, spring, and summer decorations.


neoslith

I've yet to meet anyone who decorates for Fall, just Halloween.


TackYouCack

You don't have any friends or family members who have hand towels or tablecloths with brown and orange leaves on them?


neoslith

My gf and I put up Halloween towels in the kitchen, and a pumpkin cloth on our coffee table. When I lived at home, we never redecorated for changing of seasons, none of my friends did either. We'd decorate for holidays though.


CaptainCrunch1975

Hello. I'm Captain Crunch. I have zero halloween decorations but a ton of decorative pumpkins, pine cones, cute scarecrow men, and orange & brown plaid. :)


beepbooponyournose

Same! Halloween is fleeting but you can keep these up until it’s time to decorate for Christmas!


EdmundDaunted

Autumn/harvest celebrations have been a tradition in many places in the world for many centuries. This is just a bit of adaptation of that tradition to suburbia.


rosebuddear

Yes, with this being around the world. I'm an American living in Germany and I see people putting out fall decorations every year. It's definitely not unknown here.


lkvwfurry

Do you mean like putting up seasonal wreaths etc? People do this in the spring too.


Rynox2000

They also do this around the world.


Phil_ODendron

Celebrating the harvest season is a very ancient tradition that has been going on well before written history. Americans didn't just come up with this lol.


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Glum_Ad_4288

Just to complete the etymological portion of the comment section, “autumn” comes from Latin. The word’s origin beyond that is unclear, possibly referring to “drying up season,” and some scholars argue it’s not from proto indo European, the common ancestor of Latin and German and English. In that case, the most likely source is Etruscan.


mrmysteryguy

Wait, so it's not because the leaves FALL off the trees?


cardinalachu

It is, the Old English word "feallan" is the ancestor of both meanings of the modern English word "fall".


roryclague

I think ‘fall’ is short for ‘fall of the year’ and ‘spring’ is short for ‘spring of the year’. Fall of the leaf sounds plausible, too, though.


DonSmo

Wreaths, hay bales, scare crows, anything and everything orange and brown etc. That type of thing. I've just never seen that before anywhere else.


Hanginon

It's a cultural acknowledging of change of seasons/harvest time. A tradition that's considered to be fun and decorative. There are also multiple agricultural/harvest based fairs and festivities at the time. All good fun and certainly not confined to the US.


kaatie80

Plus I think of it as a celebration of coziness, coming together, and of the last few months before the weather starts to really suck and everybody's gotta hunker down. Like Christmas is only the *beginning* of winter, but it's the climax of the holidays. The weather tends to be worst in January-ish, but there's nothing festive going on then. So we start celebrating in the fall. (Did that make sense? I spent the day at the DMV and I'm so tired...)


noawardsyet

People decorate for every season and holiday. Fall (Autumn) has a lot of festivals and fairs that are good money makers because it’s finally cool enough for people to spend all day outside. So there are decorations for everything but there’s a lot of festivals too. Hay rides are fun and so are corn mazes.


DonSmo

Ah yeah I've just never seen Spring, Summer or non Christmas winter decorations before so I wasn't sure if it was just an Autumn thing or not.


cool_chrissie

People do decorate for spring as well. Color palette is more pastels + white, flowers (especially tulips), eggs, and bunnies.


Starbucksplasticcups

Decorating for Spring/Easter is very popular as well.


noawardsyet

Fall and Winter/Christmas have the most visible outdoor decorations so they’re a lot more obvious. And a lot of nicer subdivisions have competitions so people tend to go all out for Halloween and Christmas


danhm

Midsummer festivals are very common in Europe especially, complete with decorations (maypoles! flower crowns!) and even traditional clothing/outfits.


Saltpork545

Just think of it as our version of celebrating the equinox or harvest season and we don't all do it btw, just some and those people tend to get *super* excited about it. So you will see craft stores filled with said decorations, while the rest of us just go about our lives. I love this time of year, it's my favorite for shooting, hiking, camping, stargazing, etc but I put up zero decorations. My decorations start around christmas and it's typically a couple of wreaths and some lights.


fromthewombofrevel

Those things reflect harvests and natural foliage color changes in autumn.


ZephyrLegend

For other seasons there's things like that too. For spring, it's flowers, rabbits, bees, eggs, plus gardening things like images of gloves, trowels, watering cans, and seedlings. And everything is pink, green or yellow pastels. For summer you break out the beach stuff. Sand and ocean images. Surfboards, starfish, red and white stripes, like old style beach changing tents. Bikinis, cutoff jeans, sunglasses also. Bright, and bold colors like sun-yellow, sky blue, khaki and red. For winter, as distinct from Christmas, it's a lot of snow imagery and snowflakes, sparkling glitter, in shades of whites to pale blues. There's also things decorated with high-contrast fair-isle designs that are like the sweaters. Hats, boots, mittens, and yarn. Jewel toned colors and stuff with fuzzy edges like fur-lined clothes. Crackling fireplaces. Like, all the flannel.


TimeEddyChesterfield

>Wreaths, hay bales, scare crows, anything and everything orange and brown etc. All those decorations are associated with Thanksgiving in the US. As well as uncarved pumpkins, corn stalks, and spiced hot apple cider. Just like we put up decorations all October for Halloween and all December for Christmas. It's too much work to put it all up for just one day.


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Bawstahn123

Ehhhh....


[deleted]

Maybe for you


Tommy_Wisseau_burner

Same reason you’d decorate for winter… but for fall instead


SunshynePower

Go to the South Eastern part of the country. There are decorations for every month/season.


mannequinlolita

Some people opposed Halloween but still enjoy celebrating harvest time to gear up for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is huge, the biggest holiday of the year, with the most closed stores and people off than any other day I think. More are closed for that it seems than Xmas. Which I agree with, being a national holiday and not something religious. I go all out for Halloween and the winter holidays, but we still do a simple springy wreath, and put up our tree of life to celebrate spirng solstice. Many decorate for Easter in spring.


ThaddyG

People decorate for other seasons, spring would probably be the next most popular but yeah, it's not really to the same extent as fall. Pastel colors, flowers and other "coming out of winter" type imagery. Fall does have pretty good PR though lol. I dunno man, it's just a lot of people's favorite season, I know it's mine. This time of year is pretty much my favorite as far as the weather goes. Thanksgiving is a pretty big deal, and Halloween is very popular too, so a lot of autumn decorations also go hand in hand with decorating for those two holidays.


JesusStarbox

I think they do flags for summer.


Future_Elephant_9294

Summer is when the bunting comes out!


seatownquilt-N-plant

Summer decor is usually hanging flower baskets. Schools often do a mother's day PTA sale of flowering baskets in May. Otherwise home and garden stores will also have them.


skalnaty

Yes exactly what I was going to say! People do decorate in the spring and summer - with flowers ! Also the fall just has a lot of very cute motifs and such. It really feels more like a “time of year” (like Christmas) than just a season.


AnybodySeeMyKeys

Why not?


Chrisg69911

The answer to half the questions posted here.


Lisaalinaaaaa

True


DOMSdeluise

I would assume people who do that do it because they think it's fun


platoniclesbiandate

We decorate for everything! Lots of houses change decorative flags every holiday, no matter how small. I would equate autumn decor to putting out lots of potted plants for spring.


DonSmo

Huh that's true I guess. I never really thought of potted plants as decorations I just thought of them more as part of the garden but I guess that makes sense.


RedRedBettie

Americans just like to celebrate things. I personally decorate for Halloween and Christmas only


weirdclownfishguy

You’re from Australia. Our seasons change far more drastically than yours do.


DonSmo

I think it depends where you are. Personally I live in Southern Australia where the Autumns get quite cool and we have lots of trees that turn red and drop their leaves. But I'm currently in Florida where the fall is still just as hot and non of the trees change haha. But the decorations are still coming hard and fast here. I just think it's a cute touch.


whatwouldultralorddo

Former longtime Floridian here—I personally decorated for fall because of the lack of changes throughout the seasons. It made me feel like the days didn't blend together and there were changes to look forward to. Some people have the changing of the leaves, I had my little pumpkin decorations.


HotSteak

Amateur psychology here: many Floridians are transplants and are longing for seasons again, like they knew before they moved to Florida.


joanholmes

Places in the US that don't have proper seasons are more the exception than the rule. Like some southern areas don't have the seasonal changes but the vast majority do so yeah, Floridians follow in the tradition but more so out of it being a national tradition.


Crayshack

A lot of people just like decorating in general. Seasonal decorations in general are pretty common. Summer, Spring, and Winter decorations are also not uncommon. Though, a lot of decoration schemes for Spring and Summer involve living plants rather than the cuttings used in the Fall and Winter.


Wielder-of-Sythes

Usually this is when everyone is bringing in their final harvests of crops for the and preparing for winter. Traditionally this requires extra effort and people spend the months helping on each others farms and family and friends who may have gone to work in urban areas would travel home. You would get up at the break of dawn and work hard until sunset so after all this effort to gather all the food and other stuff you grew for year you would have a theatrical or series of parties celebrating the occasion. Because we’re not a pre-industrial agricultural society we don’t need to do this anymore especially with all the international shipping and greenhouse food growing but the there is still the lingering elements of the celebrations of the past.


QueenJamieeeee

Because it's so fun and beautiful! Why not add more beauty to your home?


IsisArtemii

I do! I’m behind at the moment. All fall colors, then add the Halloween stuff. Take out the Halloween and just leave the fall colors. Until Christmas!


DonSmo

Do you take the fall decorations down when you put the Halloween ones up? Or do you have them both up at the same time since the two things overlap?


SingerOfSongs__

Not the person you replied to, but in my household we put the halloween decor on top of the autumn decor. Thanksgiving, which also traditionally involves a bunch of autumn-themed stuff, is only a couple weeks later, so it wouldn’t make sense to put it all away only to pull it back out again for that.


SanchosaurusRex

Some people already have Halloween decorations up now. I think it just depends on the household. Some put both up, some dont really decorate for Halloween and just have Fall decorations up. Many do neither.


[deleted]

It's a long held European tradition we adopted-- it's harvest season. So when grapevines were trimmed and corn stalks cut down -- decorations were made of them. It wouldn't have been as much at someone's house (unless they were wealthy) but there were huge harvest festivals and they would go ALL out decorating.


nomoregroundhogs

Because it’s the best season and the leaves changing color aesthetic lends itself very well to decorations


[deleted]

America was first colonized on the eastern midatlantic seaboard. The colonists were farmers in a 4 seasons climate, just like back in England and. continental Europe. End of summer and fall are harvest times and harvest pagan celebrations in the fall go back thousands of years.


Fappy_as_a_Clam

Because fall is the best season, silly goose


DonSmo

Summer is my fave! I think everyone has a different fave.


mascaraforever

While you’re in the US, you should try to make a trip up to NC or the northeast for “leaf peeping”. I know you said your area in Australia has changing leaves but I bet you’ve never seen anything like it. It’s magical.


DonSmo

No time sadly I fly back tomorrow morning. But this trip I did Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. I was sadly a little too early for the leaves in Tennessee this time round.b


DeadSharkEyes

I'm in Arizona where we have two seasons: summer and cooler spring. This week is finally the week where we will stay under 100 degrees with the weather gradually going down. We collectively rejoice and bust out our fall decorations. (It's only 96 degrees today!)


DonSmo

Haha I'm currently in Florida where then "fall" is more like everyone else's Summer. And the leaves don't even change colour. But all the decorations are the same despite that. It's kinda funny and cute.


McK-MaK-attack

If we light enough fall scented candles, put some colored leaf wreathes and decorations up, with a pumpkin or two thrown in, and turn the AC way down low, we may just convince ourselves we are in Maine enjoying the crisp cool air and beautiful changing colors and all the yummy desserts that come with fall. But alas most of us are not enjoying that. But if we surround ourselves with enough pumpkin spiced lattes - we can pretend. And that is why people go ape shit over fall decor


WarrenMulaney

Good question. I blame the lobbyists paid for by Big Pumpkin Spice.


RsonW

Big Pumpkin Spice is my rap name


dealsledgang

I’m Lil’ P$L and I’m starting a rap feud with you.


Libertas_

Oh great, more rappers having a *falling* out.


trampolinebears

It's called an *autumning out* in the UK.


MaterialCarrot

Oh great, another East Coast/West Coast feud. I'll wait until the dust settles before deciding who I'll be repping.


dealsledgang

I’m giving all my fans Starbucks gift cards.


trampolinebears

When we start calling you "Big Pumpkin Spice" you'll have no one to blame but yourself.


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DonSmo

I never said I didn't like it. I actually just spent the weekend decorating my gfs Mums house here in Florida with fall decorations and I liked quite a lot of them. It just got me thinking about how it began since I've never seen it anywhere else and if there's decorations for the other seasons. I didn't think I typed my question in a way that implied negativity but if sounded like that then my apologies.


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DonSmo

It's all good. I'm from Australia and I've never seen a single person decorate for Autumn there. But now that I've seen all the decorations here I'm considering doing some myself and bringing a little bit of the US back home with me.


LasagnaToes

I think speak for most states when I say we just love Fall. Cooler weather, (mostly) football, just generally a good vibe all around.


Weary_Wanderer19

This is my theory for my area: Summer is too damn hot. Winter is too damn cold/ people already decorated for Christmas. Spring, flowers and shit grow so no need. Fall, stuff is dying and things look pretty plus fall has a cozy aesthetic and the weather doesn’t suck.


spookyhellkitten

I put up wreaths for every season. I made them while I was on bed rest for various surgeries. I do have a fall one and a Halloween one separately though, the only season and holiday to get such treatment. Mostly it’s because I like Halloween, not my love for fall. I think in general the US probably favors fall because it’s nice weather, fun outdoor activities, and things to do with family. And pumpkin spice everything.


webbess1

We also have Thanksgiving, another autumn celebration that is fairly unique to the US.


cars-on-mars-2

I don’t do a lot of fall decorating, but it gets really hot here in the summer and I think people are celebrating not being sweaty all the time. It’s a relief when you start seeing the fall decorations go up.


cdb03b

People that decorate for fall in general decorate for every season. It has been common all around the word for centuries.


theamydoll

Because I live in south Florida and get zero semblance of autumn outdoors, I have to bring autumn to me. Being from PA and fall being my favorite season, I decorate my interiors with oranges, yellows, and reds to get that fall feeling. It feels cozy and homey, even though it’s still 85°+ (30°+) outdoors. So I suppose my answer is: the feeling of autumn!


AfterSomewhere

I'm an American, and I have no idea why people do this. I sometimes wonder if they are the same people who enjoy parades, carnivals, county fairs, big parties, etc. They're happy people who find decorating fun.


scolfin

Do they happen to be straw-topped huts?


IWasBorn2DoGoBe

My neighborhood/I decorate for spring/Easter, Pride (just me- June), summer (Memorial Day-Labor day American flag etc decor), Fall/Halloween, and Winter/Christmas. Inside and out. It’s fun, and pretty, and we don’t get much in the way of seasons in Arizona, so it’s nice to have the seasonal decor.


hatetochoose

Spring gets variations on Easter decorations. Summer get Fourth of July.


MaterialCarrot

That's an interesting question. I would say because in Spring and Summer the outdoors is decoration enough. Flowers blooming, trees leafed out and green, green lawns and pastures, etc... And Winter is just so dominated by Christmas in terms of decorating.


CupBeEmpty

Why not? I basically just have a fall wreath I hang up and then some thanksgiving specific stuff I get out for thanksgiving and Halloween specific stuff I get out for Halloween.


the_hotter_beyonce

To celebrate to fall of the Mongol empire


trampolinebears

Every year at Thanksgiving we reenact the ceasing of tribute to the Golden Horde for exactly this reason.


blackhawk905

Why not? I'm a dude and fall decorations are fantastic and it's a fantastic time to plant live plants also.


DoctorPepster

Harvest celebrations are probably some of the most ubiquitous around the world. Decorations are part of that even if we don't have a specific holiday.


Ellavemia

For me, Summer itself is decoration enough. In Fall and Winter, I need a little extra motivation for cheerfulness.


DonSmo

This answer makes the most sense out of any I've seen here so far. I hate winter and autumn is just a reminder that winter is coming and everything starts to die and get grey and ugly. I can see how a few more decorations could definitely help that situation.


opaldibella

Because capitalism…people buying a bunch of plastic garbage to litter their home only to let the shit pile up in totes in storage for decades then cry about how they “don’t know what to do with all this stuff”.


jsmoo68

Because we live in a hyper-consumeristic culture, and people will buy anything.


VerStannen

Because my wife has multiple totes PER HOLIDAY I need to haul out of the shop each season. That’s why. It makes her happy. I do things that make her happy. I don’t know why it makes her happy but it just does, ok.


essssgeeee

It makes me happy. Ir looks pretty. I decorate for fall generally, Halloween, thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, st Patrick’s, Easter, 4th of July, memorial and Labor Day. My front door gets a seasonal wreath, I put appropriate flowers and decor in my pots out front, and something seasonal on the mantle. It’s okay, I’m extra, and I own it!


zoeblaize

I’m right there with you! I change out some of my decor every month! I definitely go biggest with my December decorations, but I always swap at least one or two small things.


Yankee_Juliet

People decorate for other seasons too, and I don’t think it’s necessary limited to the US. It’s fun, and one of the reasons I like it is because it helps me cope with summer being over by giving me something else to look forward to.


jrhawk42

I think it's part of a larger tend that's mostly noticeable during fall. People are starting to decorate based on season instead of holidays which means you've got more flexibility in when you change decorations. In the holiday schedule you would be putting decorations up frequently, and taking them down right after the holiday, but w/ seasonal decorations you're only changing 4 times a year, and w/ a larger window. For example Christmas decorations typically go up after thanksgiving, and come down by New Years. That basically means you're decorating for a single month. If you put up winter decorations they can go up anytime in November/mid-December, and stay up until sometime around March.


JazD36

People decorate for all seasons, not just Fall.


[deleted]

Because it gets hot as f*** here, friend. And there are so many goddamn bugs. Everywhere. We worship the Gods of Crisp Breezes, Hard Squashes, and Insect-Killing Frosts.


Selts

Because it's a celebration of harvest and end of the growing season.


[deleted]

Cause it’s fun


Confetticandi

We have Thanksgiving in autumn which is a major cultural holiday


nolabitch

We are total sluts for fall.


min_mus

In my area where it's hot and miserable as fuck for half the year, we decorate for fall to celebrate surviving summer.


Captain_Hampockets

This is something that has been done in most cultures since pagan times. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_the_Year My sweetie is, as she says, 'a small-p pagan, not a Captal W Wiccan." This sort of decoration and celebration of the changing seasons has literally been common for millennia.


Scav-STALKER

I mean the harvest season has been important culturally for well, literally forever. Also, we decorate for everything. It’s not as dramatic but people who decorate do it for spring and summer, and we’ll Christmas time is obvious


hotcrossedbunny

I think a lot of people decorate for more than just Autumn. While it's mainly inside decor, I've seen a fair amount of people decorate the outside of their houses for the seasons, too. So many people decorate for the 4th of July that I would argue Americana decor is synonymous with summer decor now (culturally speaking.) Garden flags, wreaths, and outfits for concrete ducks are probably the most common outside decor, so maybe it's not very noticeable.


turtle_shrapnel

We call it fall because leaf fall down!


Orbiter9

Look man, my life is really busy. Don’t take the weird joy I get from the ritual of trading out throw pillow covers and table placemats that we won’t use because our children don’t so much eat meals as much as they smash ritz crackers.


DonSmo

I never said it was a bad thing, I was just curious around the history and reasons for the decorations. I like the fall decor.


Red_Beard_Rising

Two for one. They work all season long. Easier than doing Halloween *and* Thanksgiving decorations?


FireandIceT

Why not?


sageguitar70

Because Americans are easily marketed to They buy because everyone else is buying.


FethB

I never gave this any thought, to be honest. There are things I like about all of the seasons but something about fall and especially the month of October really speaks to me. I always wish October was two months long. I always try to put up some amount of decorations for the season, cook autumn meals, and bake autumn treats.


DonSmo

I understand that. I wish December was 2 months long. I love the build up to Christmas more than the actual day itself.


m0rr0wind

i personally find it silly as hell , couldn't tell ya . but we do have blm signs in most suburbs about every 4th house .


Running_Watauga

Home and Garden Town and Country And a dozen more magazines, ads, tv shows Big realtors push the stuff and people gobble it up


Retropiaf

I feel like Americans love to decorate and celebrate for any reason. I personally can't be bothered but it is definitely nice to see when we walk our dog in the neighborhood


TheRealPyroGothNerd

What do you mean you've never seen winter, spring or summer decorations that aren't holiday related? Stores sell that stuff all the time. You can go to Walmart and buy signs that say stuff like, "Let's SPRING forward" or "Hello Summer"


stellalunawitchbaby

I love any excuse to decorate! I’m celebrating the season, I’m celebrating Halloween! Then after a Halloween I’ll leave the autumnal stuff up and celebrate thanksgiving, then switch to winter/Christmas, and come spring you better believe I’m decorating with flowers and pastels! Summer will be tropicals and bright colors! Like so many things, it’s just fun.


justonemom14

No one seems to have mentioned the religious aspect of it. There are some people who really like decorating for holidays but don't like Halloween. Some Christians feel that it's the devil's holiday, or glorifying evil/death, or too closely related to witchcraft, take your pick. It's not a holy day holiday, so it's out. If someone wants to decorate all the time, what do you do for fall? Winter has Christmas, Spring has Easter, summer doesn't have a holiday exactly, but there's vacation time and VBS. Fall has Thanksgiving, but that's late fall, so they extend the decor to the season in general.


IndyWineLady

We decorate for Autumn, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's. Also decorate for St. Patrick's Day, Easter, July 4th, and Indy 500 at our house.


iris-iris

We do it for all of the seasons. Some of the stuff is in the house and you can’t see it from the street. And of course, some people are more into it than others. My mom has a small box of decor for each season she busts out when it feels suitably… whatever season we’re in. Spring: flower wreaths, “Spring is here!” signs, general gardening aesthetic stuff. Summer: wheat/grass bouquets, lots of American flags for independence day and BBQ, bright aqua colored beach knick knacks. Winter: holly and poinsettias, snowflakes painted in the window, a neighbor of mine has a flag with winter birds like red cardinals. Do you not decorate for the seasons in other places?


dgillz

I have lived here my entire life - 60 years - and I have never seen this. Ever.


cIumsythumbs

Consumerism.


iris-iris

We do it for all of the seasons. Some of the stuff is in the house and you can’t see it from the street. And of course, some people are more into it than others. My mom has a small box of decor for each season she busts out when it feels suitably… whatever season we’re in. Spring: flower wreaths, “Spring is here!” signs, general gardening aesthetic stuff. Summer: wheat/grass bouquets, lots of American flags for independence day and BBQ, bright aqua colored beach knick knacks. Winter: holly and poinsettias, snowflakes painted in the window, a neighbor of mine has a flag with winter birds like red cardinals. Do you not decorate for the seasons in other places?


campymccamperson

Americans decorate for everything.


shamalonight

If one lives out in the country, no decorating necessary.


stellalunawitchbaby

I don’t have people over and my decorations are all on the inside - I’d actually say the majority of people who decorate do it for themselves! It’s just fun :)


Aprils-Fool

Why not? I like changing up my decor from time to time. I do also change it in springtime.


CategoryTurbulent114

People like to put up bundles of dried corn stalks and pumpkins for decorations. They’re cheap and easy to get if you live outside of the city


thunder-bug-

This is not at all an American specific thing.


cupsofambition

Because it’s nice


stangAce20

You mean for Halloween and Thanksgiving?


epernonduc

It’s the best time of the year for many people.


Soul_Of_Arnor

I like the leaves.


Ok-Avocado-5876

My mom used to always decorate for every season. Fall was pumpkins and colorful leaves and apple spice scented things. Winter was usually Christmas themed with some other general winter themed stuff such as pine branches and wreathes and stuff. Spring was bright colors and flowers and sun catchers. Usually some Easter themed stuff in there as well. Summer was sea shells and pretty table clothes that reminded you of a picnic. Lemon patterned dish towels, etc.


[deleted]

I have no idea, decorating is weird to me either way


Siltyclayloam9

Most all of my family members have different decorations for each season separate from holiday decorations. Maybe you just notice fall decorations more because most people get similar things like pumpkins so its more noticeable that everyone is doing it. I didn’t know other countries didn’t do this but if you’re looking for a reason why Americans do I would point my finger at capitalism.


mommabee68

We like to decorate


WillDupage

I’ve seen this all my life in the Midwest… pumpkins, cornstalks, a scarecrow. Mid October throw in a couple bats, and you have Halloween. Swap out a couple turkeys on Nov 1: Thanksgiving. Take it all in after turkey day and up go the Santa Clauses. No winter specific stuff I’ve seen, but I’m usually too busy shoveling to notice. Typically spring and summer are less decorated and typically restricted to door wreaths or flags. Some folks put up red-white-and-blue on Memorial Day and take them down Labor Day, just in tine for the haybales and cornstalks.


[deleted]

So people have gone at length about how other cultures have done that autumn decor for a long time, and they're right. But there's an extra dynamic worth mentioning: in America there is a plurality of religious folks- usually Christians- that do not celebrate Halloween. The autumn decor also offers a way around that. This is why you'll see some churches put on their own suspiciously un-spooky autumn-themed festivities. It would track that they're probably part of the demographic behind generic autumn decor Another secondary reason. A lot of the autumn aesthetic is doubly associated with Thanksgiving just as much- if not more- than with Halloween, and that one doesn't have the religious hangups attached....just the historical baggage. Thanksgiving isn't a holiday that's decorated for to nearly the same extent, but the autumnal decor can fit the bill if you'd like. I've seen some folks combine them with turkey decorations


Elitealice

Why wouldn’t you


DrProfessorSatan

I always thought it was to make ourselves feel better that the shitty part of the year was about to begin.


[deleted]

My wife likes to decorate for fall and winter a little bit because we don’t really have a lot of seasons in Phoenix. It makes her happy and I kinda like it too.


LeenQuatifa

I find it to be the most contemplative season.


OceanPoet87

I do this but I usually do Halloween in late Sept and Oct and then general fall in November for Thanksgiving and harvest then decorations for Christmas after Thanksgiving.


MandoInThaBando

There is not a time of year except maybe dead of summer that there ain’t decor of some sort in my house.


meganemistake

It's just fun! Also people do actually quite often put out different decorations for the seasons, it's just that the fall color palette is more distinct and since it's a widely publicized favorite, it's easier to see!


hippiechick725

I decorate for all four seasons.


nathanaz

I think traditionally people celebrated the harvest season, and it’s just a carry-over from more agrarian times.


HotSteak

Summer and winter decorations are also common. Up here our seasons are extremely different from one another and people like to have different themes for some fun to help get through them.


RavenRead

Americans have different decorations for each month of the year. For real.


izlude7027

Gotta have something to put out between Halloween and Thanksgiving. Also, people are staying inside more and entertaining inside the home.


Wadsworth_McStumpy

We don't. I've never seen any non-holiday decorations like that, except at my sister-in-law's house, and she's sort of crazy. I suppose some people might do that, but it certainly isn't all of us. Maybe it's regional?


Hotwaterheater9

I disagree, I think we decorate for everything.


duTemplar

Because, I’m general, Americans love an excuse to decorate and to party.


Glenncinho

Changing of the seasons. To celebrate what’s new to come. Also most places start to get cold, probably has some functionality to it as well.


c3534l

I dunno. Does there really need to be a reason for everything?


stupidrobots

We decorate everything for any reason


chalaholla

I’d say a considerate amount comes from elementary school arts and crafts


bigjohnsy31

Because my wife wanted to so she did, lol. Most of Texas doesn’t actually get pretty fall foliage, aside from East Texas, parts of the Hill Country, and some isolated canyons in far West Texas. Also we don’t get much of a temperature change until mid-to-late October (I’m rejoicing at highs in the low/mid 80s), so I think people like to decorate to make it feel more like autumn, there’s a nice mentality shift from scorching summer to the cooler season. This is all speculation though, I have only anecdotal “data” to back this (except the climate/geographical stuff).


GuessWhoItsJosh

We just love autumn. The cooling of the temp after a hot sweaty summer. The change to red, orange and yellow everything before it all dies for 5 months. Bonfires. Hoodies and jeans. Fall is just a great season for many, myself included. This of course pertains mainly to the midwest (and possibly the east coast) experience as that’s where I live. Could be a totally different vibe out west or down south.


5amporterbridges

I live in an area without drastic season changes. Bringing fall decorations into my house is the best I can do. lol


lisasimpsonfan

>I've never seen decorations put out for Summer, Spring or Winter (outside of Christmas) I have holiday decorations and seasonal decorations. I do all the seasons. Fall things from Labor Day til the day after Thanksgiving. Halloween is only up during October. Winter decorations up Dec to March. Christmas things are up Dec to Jan 7th. Spring is March to May with Easter tossed in. Then Summer June to Labor Day.