It’s autumn — farmers are harvesting their crops, temperatures are dropping, and leaves are falling… or are they? In Mesa, Arizona, where I’ve lived for most of my life, none of these classic signs of autumn appear.
Here, we mainly harvest sunshine. Our autumn weather is what the rest of the country considers the heat of summer. Throughout September, we’re usually still in the triple digits; it’s been 100 degrees on Halloween. Fall color — if we get any — appears around Christmastime. Autumn in the East Valley of Phoenix is more of a concept on the calendar than a visible reality.
And yet, as soon as mid-September hits, you’ll find me decking out my house with a cornucopia of fall décor that’d make any New Englander proud. Each year, I haul my autumn storage bin out of my (very hot) garage and go “Full Fall Mode” with leafy garlands, faux pumpkins, and rustic-looking signs welcoming the season. It’s not just me, either. Drive through suburban Phoenix and you’ll see plenty of xeriscape yards dotted with scarecrows and colorful synthetic leaves wilting in the sun.
If I’m honest, I know it’s a little ridiculous to decorate my home with the accoutrements of a season I don’t actually experience. You might think, then, that I’d refrain from trying to cosplay my way into seasonal change. But, despite the apparent silliness of it all, decorating for fall is an annual practice I intend to keep.
It makes me remember my childhood
For me, the habit of fall decorating is rooted partly in childhood nostalgia. After our family moved to Arizona from Illinois when I was a toddler, my mom continued to adorn our house every fall with knickknacks brought from “the home country.” Having grown up this way, I feel I’m bringing a little bit of my family’s Midwestern roots to my desert life. Knowing that my family lived in Illinois from the 1830s to the 1980s, I feel a sort of enjoyable obligation to carry on the legacy of fall.
Courtesy of the author
A sense of solidarity with the rest of the country probably drives the desire to decorate for many Southwesterners. Phoenix is notoriously a city of transplants. According to the US Census Bureau, about 61% of Arizonans were born in other states, so perhaps we feel the need to maintain a seasonal rhythm we knew elsewhere.
It makes me connect with a sense of being American
Even for Arizona natives (or near-natives, like me), there’s something to be said for having a communal experience with the rest of the country. While most of the nation enjoys chilly nights and crunching leaves underfoot, some of us Phoenicians don’t want to be left out. The pleasures of fall are undeniably appealing. Personally, I want in on them, too, even if I have to force it with a fantasy of mass-produced tchotchkes from Hobby Lobby.
I’d even say that decorating for fall connects me with a broader sense of being American. Of all the seasons of the year, autumn seems somehow the most quintessential to this country. Pastimes like attending football games, celebrating Thanksgiving, and trick-or-treating on Halloween are all uniquely American. Decorating my house for the season feels like joining in a kind of shared national history and identity.
I also like redecorating
If nothing else, updating the palette of my home for fall scratches an itch for change. In the desert Southwest, we spend half the year in unrelenting heat. Even when autumn officially arrives, it brings few visible signs. But despite the monotony of the world outside, my own space can transform into a little seasonal sanctuary. It’s a much-needed breath of fresh air amid the sameness — and it gives me hope that, even in Phoenix, the actual air will eventually cool down.
Courtesy of the author
Plus, even though my decorations might not be “real,” they can still be beautiful. Little touches like rust-colored leaves, apple cider-scented candles, and a pumpkin-embroidered table runner bring a jolt of the aesthetic into my house. I can always use a bit more beauty in my life, especially in the drabness of suburbia.
I can’t change the weather outside, but I can change my home environment. So, to me, fancying up my house for fall is always worth the effort. Laugh if you want. I’ll be over here chilling in my Arizona autumn fantasy.
