It’s not just the apple cider doughnuts.

Every fall, thousands of New Englanders — normally happy to buy their produce at the grocery store — head for the region’s farms to select the perfect pumpkin, pick fresh apples, and take part in other autumnal delights.

But the seasonal obsession with agriculture goes deeper than hayrides, corn mazes, and petting zoos. It’s part of an ancient, perhaps innate, celebration of the harvest season — a nod to antiquity as the sky darkens and winter approaches.

“I think that’s the point at which people reach back for something they trust,’’ said Tim Clark, contributing editor with The Old Farmer’s Almanac, whose release is another rite of fall that harks back generations.

Clark, who has worked at the publication since 1978, said he doesn’t think people are going to visit farms each fall to see the latest technological advancements in agribusiness. They’re there to imagine a time when their ancestors had a deep connection to farming.

“You’re looking for wooden wagons and apple trees with wooden ladders. It is a journey into our history,’’ he said. “We tend to do that when we are anxious about our future.’’

As the days get shorter and the weather colder, it’s hard not to feel a sense of loss.

“Fall is also bittersweet because it’s also the end of something,’’ Clark said. “We contemplate our own mortality in the fall.’’

A celebration of autumn helps us remember that people have made it through the winter since the dawn of time — often thanks to the very traditions that have sprung up around the harvest.

“Going back thousands of years, harvest was probably the only time that people had enough to eat,’’ he said.

Andy Rosen can be reached at andrew.rosen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @andyrosen.