When we feel that first crisp breeze, we know summer is gone and fall has arrived – sometimes slowly, sometimes “right now.” Every season has its ups and downs; however, autumn has an unusual beauty to it. Those who particularly enjoy this season revel in the unique ability of nature to turn the world into a big canvas of color with nature’s paintbrush.
A favorite activity of fall is driving along tree-lined streets and roadways or taking a nature hike, absorbing and reveling in the beautiful colors of the canopy of leaves – red, gold, and orange with enough slowly-turning leaves to add enough green to create the perfect color palette.
And, let’s not forget the camping trips taken simply to enjoy the beautiful colors or for the opportunity for great photography.
Of all the seasons of the year, fall fashion is the best . . . fall clothes look good on anyone! The option of layering gives us the ability to bring on great combinations of color. We have scarves, puffy vests, hoodies, long-sleeved sweaters and tees, fashion boots, long and short coats and dresses, and an array of pants to choose from to build our own palette of color and style.
The flavor of pumpkin comes full circle in the fall . . . not only through the use of the meat of the pumpkin but also in pumpkin spice which is readily available. You can get the pumpkin flavor in ice cream, flavored almonds, pumpkin-spiced lattes, ales, baked goods, etc. And of course, the traditional pumpkin pie that completes almost all Thanksgiving dinners.
We have two holidays we celebrate during Fall . . . Halloween and Thanksgiving. The Thanksgiving holiday kicks off the Holiday Season.
Halloween evolved from an ancient Celtic holiday; however, our modern Halloween diminished the ghost and ghoul focus and became more about candy and costumes for both children and adults. What fun it is, when our doorbell rings on Halloween, to open it and see the cute and clever costumes of little (and big) children, standing in anticipation of that sweet treat to be dropped into their basket. And we can’t forget the adults who enjoy costumes and parties every bit as much as the children . . . and probably plan all year what character they’re going to be for this year’s Halloween party.
Thanksgiving is the first holiday of what we refer to as the Holiday Season. George Washington proclaimed Thanksgiving a “federal and public” holiday in 1789, and it has become one of the major holidays of the year. Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel periods of the year because of the four- or five-day weekend vacation for schools and colleges as well as for business and government workers. In the United States, loved ones gather on the fourth Thursday in November for the traditional Thanksgiving feast, giving thanks for the blessings they have received. In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October, celebrating the harvest and other blessings of the past year. By the way, did you know Americans eat more food on Thanksgiving than any other day of the year?
So here we are, approaching the end of Fall and eagerly anticipating the Winter and Holiday Season, adding Christmas, New Year and Valentine’s Day to our traditional celebrations. Some of us will be experiencing the coldest time of the year – others will be going into their summer season. Wherever it is or wherever you are, there will always be things to enjoy and look forward to.