Halloween – The BeZine

*Thanks to my friend M. for the terrace decor.*

… after Clement Clarke Moore‘s “Twas the Night Before Christmas …

‘Twas All Hallows’ Eve, and all through the house
Every creature was stirring, even our pet mouse
Oh the pumpkins were carved with very great care
In the hope that trick-or-treaters soon would be there
The children were agitated, not one in her bed
As visions of sweet treats danced in their heads
Dad and I in our costumes and me with my cap
Had settled by the door listening for the first rap
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
We sprang to our feet to check on the matter
We threw open our door to offer sweet stash
While witches flew by, all glitter and flash
And the moon on the rise and the dark ground below
Gave lustre and bluster to ghosts on the go
And then what to our startled eyes should appear,
But a miniature ballerina among goblins, one bear
Now, Alice! Now Ernie! Now Jimmy! Now Chris!
Come little Tony, big Brandy and Trish
To the top of the stairs, don’t any one fall …
Now dash away dash away dash away all

On behalf of The Bardo Group Beguines

Happy Halloween to all who celebrate!

And that’s it for our contribution to Halloween this year! Wishing you many sweets and no cavities.

THE MELLOW FRUITFULNESS OF FALL

Jamie Dedes

SEASON of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run…

To Autumn by John Keats (1795-1821), English poet, Romanic Movement

Autumn, transition between sultry summer and tempestuous winter, is a time to honor the dead, count and celebrate the harvest, and give thanks. The diverse peoples of the Northern Hemisphere indulge in family fun, feasting, crafts fairs, parades, and fine arts. Among the earliest celebrations are the Jewish Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, closely followed by Succot, the Feast of the Tabernacles. Originally the feasts were literally in tabernacles (huts). Now venerated around the family table, there’s the typical holiday scramble to assemble and prepare traditional foods: challah bread, gifilte fish or a roasted chicken, and apple cake or oatmeal cookies for dessert.

Harvest Moon, the first full moon before the fall equinox, presents another excuse to party. At communities, like Callaway Gardens in Georgia (U.S.A.), folks watch college football, take horticulture tours, and go cycling. Falling Leaf Moon is next, when the veil between the worlds of the living and dead is said to be thinnest. Celebrated by Pagans and Wiccans, it’s considered a ripe moment to gather for séance.

On the heals of Falling Leaf Moon is Halloween and all things spine-tingling. Special events at places like Carisbrooke Castle and Pendennis Castle in England – where the gothic and ghostly meet – offer visitors historic tours, spine-tingling walks, and spooky tales. It all harks back to the earlier times that birthed today’s foods, feasts, and falderal.

Dia de Todos los Santos (Day of All Saints) and Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) are honored in Central and South America with customs that represent a melding of cultures, American and European. Feasting is the order of the day: suckling pig and tamales. There’s music and prayers, picnics held at graveyards, and tables decorated with candles, photographs of deceased relatives and friends, and T’ant’a Wawas (bread figurines for the Day of All Saints).

T’ant’a Wawas

It would seem we humans – no matter the culture – like to celebrate our gratitude by feasting on the wealth of our harvest. In North America the big event of the season is Thanksgiving, a holiday that falls in early October in Canada and late November in the States. Major crops in North America include pumpkin, corn, potatoes, nuts, apples, and wheat, all ingredients for dinners of roasted and stuffed turkey, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and gravy, and pumpkin or apple pie. Happy kitchen chatter and clatter and the scents of cinnamon, cardamom, and sage fill the air.

Cities everywhere have parades, but the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York has a long history. It started in 1824 when immigrant workers wanted a festival like the ones they enjoyed in Europe. Today the parade is an exciting oversized event with mega-stars from television, Broadway and Hollywood and mega-sized balloons and floats. Forty-four million view it on TV.

Like the trade gatherings of the original peoples (Native Americans), crafters fairs are held at large event centers where crafters sell their handcrafted foods, household items, jewelry, and toys. These visually sensual treats arrive just in time for holiday decorating and gift giving. Often the fairs include musical entertainments, story-telling, and crafts classes as well.

A wealth of entertainment is offered everywhere: but Paris is queen, honoring autumn with theatre, music, dance and the visual arts at the Festival d’Automne à Paris that runs the length of the season, September through December.

Wherever the eye travels this season the décor, natural or inspired by nature, is bright, rich, and rustic. Public and private places are decorated with gourds, spiny ears of wheat, scarecrows, and leaves turned orange, red, and gold. Though autumn’s common denominator is the celebration of abundant crops, that abundance is excelled by the diversity of the dishes, peoples, and landscape across the Northern Hemisphere.

The links on challah bread and T’ant’a Wawas are to recipes

basket of apples/photo credit ~ morgueFile

T’ant’a Wawas/photo credit ~ The Global Gourmet

On behalf of The Bardo Group Beguines

Happy Halloween to all who celebrate!

Thank you for sharing the beauty and inspiration:

Thank you for sharing the beauty and inspiration: