The Beauty and History of the Fall Season

My favorite time of year is here and I am already enjoying the cooler air and treats that come with this season. The "Moon Pies" from the Asian tradition of the "Moon Festival" are wonderful. I must confess I am on my second tin. They come in different varieties like melon, red bean paste and my favorite, lotus seed paste with a soft buttery crust.

The nice thing about living in a large diverse area is that you can learn and enjoy the traditions, plus the foods from many cultures that usually have some type of harvest celebration. Of course there is the American culture that enjoys football, Halloween, Thanksgiving in addition to just having fun at an apple farm where you can pick your own fruit.

The word "Autumn" is very old and originated back before the sixteenth century. It came from the french word, "automne". People started using the Latin word" autumnus" and that is where we got the version now used. Before then the word "harvest' had been used in many European countries with variations like" Herbst" a German term and "cosecha", in Spanish. Harvest, in whatever language spoken means the same thing, gathering up the fruits and vegetables at the end of a growing season. The are the Celtic festivals where we established our Halloween holiday with masks and treats. The Jewish holiday "Sukkot" which is a celebration of the full moon and a harvest. The beginning of the shorter days and longer cold nights are a change that has been celebrated in different ways by many.

In America we will begin seeing pumpkins and wreaths of colored leaves, acorns and golden bows adorning the doors of homes. I love that crisp cool smell of the air as nature gets ready to rest and the falling of the spring and summer leaves so that new ones will bud the following year. The many fall festivals will spring up in almost every community, bringing with them the smell of candy apples, pumpkin pies and fresh apple cider.

With the media blasting out the news of a bad economy, violence and the never ending saga of the fighting in the Middle East we need a break to live in the moment. Let's draw in the autumn air, the joys of baking wonderful pies and the aroma of all the different types of apples now available at farmers markets and grocery stores all over our country. Take a brisk walk in the woods and parks that are in your communities and see how mother nature every year begins the process of sleep and recharging like no one else can.