September facts for kids

September is the ninth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, coming between August and October. It has 30 days. Its name comes from the Latin word sept for "seven" (it was the seventh month of the year, before January and February were added to the beginning of the year.)

September always starts on the same day of the week as December, but never ends on the same day of the week as another month.

The Month

A Works Progress Administration Poster, from 1940, for September

September begins on the same day of week as December every year, as each day in September and its equivalent in December are 91 days (13 weeks) apart. No other month in any year, common or leap year, ends on the same day of the week as September, though in common years, it ends on the same day of the week as December of the previous year. September starts and ends on the same day of the week as June of the following year, if that year is a common year. If the following year is a leap year, then September starts on the same day of the week as March and November of that particular year (September 2011 started on the same day of the week as March and November 2012, as an example).

In the old Roman calendar, September was the seventh month, which is where it got its name ("Septem" means "seventh"). The ninth month at the time was November ("Novem" means "ninth"). With Julius Caesar's calendar reform, September became the ninth month, with 30 days. September comes after August and before October.

An equinox occurs in September, either on the 22nd or 23rd, meaning there are days and nights of about equal length, half way between the June and December solstices. In the Northern Hemisphere, Autumn (Fall) begins in this month, while in the Southern Hemisphere, this is the beginning of Spring. For meteorologists, the people who study the weather, these seasons begin on September 1 in those hemispheres. In both hemispheres, it is the seasonal equivalent of March in the other. In most Northern Hemisphere countries, school starts in this month, following the summer holidays.

In Ancient Greece, September was called Boedromion. The Anglo-Saxons called it Gerstmonath, meaning "Barley month", referring to the harvest. In other countries, it is referred to as Autumn Month, such as in Finland (Syyskuu) and German-speaking parts of Switzerland (Herbstmonat).

Ethiopian New Year occurs in September. Jewish New Year also often occurs in this month.

Events and Occurrences

Fixed Events

An army parade marking Brazil's independence day on September 7.

Flower offerings on Catalonia's National Day, September 11.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the leaves on trees start to change color around the time of the September 22/23 equinox.

Autumn (Fall) begins in the Northern Hemisphere in September, mostly on September 23.

• September 1 – Independence Day (Uzbekistan)
• September 1 – Armed Struggle for Independence (Eritrea)
• September 1 – Constitution Day (Slovakia)
• September 2 – Independence Day (Vietnam)
• September 3 – National Day of San Marino
• September 3 – Independence Day (Qatar)
• September 3 – Flag Day (Australia)
• September 3 – Levy Mwanawasa Day (Zambia)
• September 3 – Merchant Navy Day (United Kingdom)
• September 5 – Teacher's Day (India)
• September 6 – Independence Day (Swaziland)
• September 6 – Unification Day (Bulgaria)
• September 7 – Independence Day (Brazil)
• September 7 – National Threatened Species Day (Australia)
• September 7 – Victory Day (Mozambique)
• September 8 – National Day of Andorra
• September 8 – Independence Day (Republic of Macedonia)
• September 8 – Nativity of the Blessed Virgin (feast day in Christianity)
• September 9 – Admission Day (California)
• September 9 – National Day of North Korea
• September 9 – Independence Day (Tajikistan)
• September 11 – National Day of Catalonia
• September 11 – Patriot Day (United States)
• September 11/12 – Ethiopian New Year
• September 12 – National Day of Cape Verde
• September 13 – World Chocolate Day
• September 14 – Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Roman Catholicism)
• September 15 – Battle of Britain Day (United Kingdom)
• September 15 – National Day of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua
• September 16 – Independence Day (Mexico)
• September 16 – Independence Day (Papua New Guinea)
• September 16 – Malaysia Day
• September 17 – Constitution Day (United States)
• September 18 – Independence Day (Chile)
• September 19 – Armed Forces Day (Chile)
• September 19 – Independence Day (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
• September 19 – International Talk Like a Pirate Day
• September 21 – Independence Day (Malta)
• September 21 – Independence Day (Belize)
• September 21 – World Freedom Day/International Peace Day
• September 21 – World Alzheimer's Day, raising awareness of Alzheimer's disease.
• September 22 – Independence Day (Bulgaria)
• September 22 – Independence Day (Mali)
• September 23 – Equinox, Autumn (Fall) in the North, Spring in the South, can occur on September 22.
• September 23 – National Day of Saudi Arabia
• September 24 – National Day of Guinea-Bissau
• September 24 – Heritage Day (South Africa)
• September 25 – Revolution Day (Mozambique)
• September 26 – European Day of Languages
• September 27 – End of Independence War Day (Mexico)
• September 27 – Holiday for the French-speaking community in Belgium
• September 28 – World Heart Day
• September 28 – World Rabies Day
• September 28 – Ask a Stupid Question Day (United States)
• September 29 – Inventors' Day (Argentina), honouring Laszlo Biro
• September 29 – Christian feast day of Michaelmas, honouring St. Michael the Archangel.
• September 29 – International Coffee Day
• September 29 – Victory of Boquerón Day (Paraguay)
• September 30 – Independence Day (Botswana)

Moveable and Monthlong Events

• The Summer Olympics sometimes occur in September, though mostly in July or August
• The Summer Paralympics are often held in September
• Yom Kippur, in the Jewish calendar, occurs in September or October.
• Labor Day (US and Canada), first Monday in September
• Prinsjesdag (Netherlands), third Tuesday in September
• Munich Oktoberfest runs in late September and the beginning of October.
• Start of school in most Northern Hemisphere countries
• German American Heritage Month and Hispanic Heritage Month (United States), run from September 15 to October 15.
• Marathons in September:
  • Berlin, Germany
  • Kathmandu, Nepal
  • Mexico City, Mexico
  • Oslo, Norway
  • Sydney, Australia
  • Tallinn, Estonia
  • Vilnius, Lithuania

Selection of Historical Events

Japanese foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signing the surrender on the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945

Painting of the Brazilian Declaration of Independence, which occurred on September 7, 1822.

Present-day flag of California, which became a US State on September 9, 1850.

Early-morning image of the dust storm affecting Sydney, Australia on September 23, 2009

Blue Lamp symbolising the London Metropolitan Police Force, which was founded on September 29, 1829.

• September 1 – 1715: The reign of Louis XIV of France ends with his death after 72 years on the throne.
• September 1 – 1914: Martha, the last Passenger Pigeon, dies, making her species extinct.
• September 1 – 1939: Nazi Germany invades Poland, starting World War II.
• September 1 – 1969: Muammar al-Gaddafi takes power in Libya, in a coup.
• September 1 – 1983: Korean Air Flight KAL-007 is shot down by a Soviet jet fighter, near Sakhalin Island, killing all 269 on board.
• September 1 – 1991: Uzbekistan becomes independent from the Soviet Union.
• September 2 – 1838: Liliuokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch, is born.
• September 2 – 1945: Japan signs the final surrender at the end of World War II.
• September 2 – 1945: Vietnam becomes independent, with Ho Chi Minh as leader.
• September 3 – 301: San Marino is founded.
• September 3 – 1939: The United Kingdom and France declare war on Germany, following its invasion of Poland.
• September 3 – 1950: Giuseppe Farina becomes the first Formula One racing champion.
• September 3 – 1967: Road traffic in Sweden is moved from the left to the right.
• September 3 – 1971: Qatar becomes independent.
• September 5 – 1972: Several members of the Israeli Olympic team are kidnapped at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. They are killed the next day.
• September 6 – 1901: US President William McKinley is shot by Leon Czolgosz, dying over a week later.
• September 6 – 1968: Swaziland becomes independent.
• September 6 – 1997: The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales takes place in London.
• September 7 – 1533: Queen Elizabeth I of England is born.
• September 7 – 1822: Brazil declares independence from Portugal
• September 7 – 1940: The World War II Battle of Britain begins.
• September 7 – 2011: All members of the Russian ice hockey team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl are killed in a plane crash.
• September 8 – 1943: US General Dwight D. Eisenhower announces the allied armistice with Italy during World War II.
• September 8 – 1991: The Republic of Macedonia declares independence from Yugoslavia.
• September 9 – 1850: California becomes the 31st State of the US.
• September 9 – 1991: Tajikistan becomes independent from the Soviet Union.
• September 10 – 1898: Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria is killed by Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni at Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
• September 10 – 1974: Guinea-Bissau officially becomes independent.
• September 10 – 2008: Scientists at CERN switch the Large Hadron Collider on for the first time.
• September 11 – 1973: Augusto Pinochet takes power in a military coup in Chile. President Salvador Allende dies during the coup.
• September 11 – 1997: Voters in Scotland approve the creation of a new Scottish Parliament.
• September 11 – 2001: The September 11 attacks occur, as Islamist terrorists crash airplanes into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon.
• September 12 – 1977: Anti-Apartheid activist Steve Biko dies in police custody.
• September 13 – 1759: Battle of the Plains of Abraham: British forces defeat French forces near Quebec City in the Seven Years' War.
• September 14 – 1752: Great Britain switches from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
• September 14 – 1982: Grace Kelly dies after a car crash the previous day.
• September 15 – 1821: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua declare independence from Spain.
• September 16 – 1810: Mexico declares independence from Spain.
• September 16 – 1975: Papua New Guinea becomes independent from Australia.
• September 17 – 1787: The United States Constitution is signed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• September 17 – 2011: The Occupy Wall Street movement begins in New York City.
• September 18 – 1810: Chile declares independence.
• September 18 – 1970: Musician Jimi Hendrix dies in London, aged 27.
• September 19 – 1983: Saint Kitts and Nevis becomes independent.
• September 19 – 1985: Southern and Central Mexico are struck by a strong earthquake. Mexico City is among the places affected.
• September 21 – 1964: Malta gains independence from the UK.
• September 21 – 1981: Belize gains independence from the UK.
• September 21 – 1989: Hurricane Hugo slams South Carolina.
• September 21 – 1991: Armenia regains its independence from the Soviet Union.
• September 22 – 1908: Bulgarian independence is recognised.
• September 22 – 1960: Mali becomes independent.
• September 23 – 63 BC: Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar is born.
• September 23 – 1932: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is formed.
• September 23 – 2009: A major dust storm affects southeastern Australia, including Sydney.
• September 24 – 1853: France takes control of New Caledonia.
• September 24 – 1973: Guinea-Bissau declares independence from Portugal.
• September 26 – 1907: New Zealand and Newfoundland are given Dominion status within the British Empire.
• September 27 – 1821: Mexico gains independence from Spain.
• September 27 – 1905: The equation E=mc squared is introduced.
• September 28 – 1978: Pope John Paul I dies just 33 days after being elected.
• September 28 – 1994: The car and passenger ferry Estonia sinks during stormy weather in the Baltic Sea.
• September 29 – 1829: London's Metropolitan Police Force is founded.
• September 29 – 1990: Washington National Cathedral is completed.
• September 29 – 2009: An earthquake and tsunamis off Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga kill 189 people.
• September 30 – 1938: The Munich Pact is signed.
• September 30 – 1955: American film star James Dean dies aged 24 in a car crash.
• September 30 – 1966: Bechuanaland becomes independent from the UK and changes its name to Botswana.
• September 30 – 2009: A strong earthquake off western Sumatra kills over 1,000 people.

Symbols and Trivia

The Sapphire is the birth stone of September.

• The birth stone for September is the sapphire, symbolising clear thinking. The birth flowers for the month are the forget-me-not, morning glory and aster.
• The Zodiac signs for September are Virgo (August 22 – September 21) and Libra (September 22 – October 21).
• In the English language, September comes last alphabetically out of all the months of the year.
• Also in the English language, September has the longest name of all the months of the year, with nine letters. Coincidentally, it is also the ninth month.
• September is the first of four months in-a-row to have a name ending in "ber", with the last three months of the year, October, November and December, also doing so.
• September is one of two months that never ends on the same day of the week as another month of the same year, the other being May.
• It is the joint-least common month for birthdays among US Presidents, along with June. They both have one each.
• Among Prime Ministers of Australia, September is the most common month for birthdays, with seven.

Images for kids

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  September, from the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry

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  School starts in September in many countries, such as Belgium

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  Forget-me-not, September birth flower