Thursday
Oct142010
Harvest and Halloween
Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 4:55AM
I love autumn in the US. It is celebrated as a season. Nevermind the brief little interlude between Summer and Christmas in the UK, where shops clear one little shelf from their Christmas displays (which have been in place since the end of August) in order to display a few little Halloween outfits for children, and some large bags of chocolate for the trick-or-treaters. In the US, fall is a holiday to enjoy and decorate for, just as much as Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Travelling across the state, I have seen numerous houses wonderfully decorated for the fall. I guess because Wisconsin is such a big farming state, the harvest season continues to hold strong ties over the population. Cute little harvest signs are placed on front doors, miniature hay carts set up outside driveways, and little baskets of autumnal crops adorn patios. The range of these harvest decorations is just staggering; I have seen unique ornaments, plaques, and designs all across the state. And some of them must have cost a small fortune to amass. But that's surely why people get them out in September, and leave them out throughout October. People take pride in how the front of their homes look, and it really makes a difference in these neighbourhoods through which we have been walking, to see these quaint little houses each decorated in their own unique way. It makes them stand out, and look great. I can only imagine what kinds of decorations lie inside.
The same is true of Halloween. Decorations for this ghoulish night have been up since the end of September. Rather early you might say? Well considering how much some of these items must cost, why not showcase them for as long as possible? Why not make what is always a fun night for kids, last for a month? It makes Halloween a little more special, and something to look forward to. The lengths some of these houses go to is truly incredible, and again, it's nice to see people taking a pride in how their home looks, and enjoying it. I have seen fake cobwebs strewn across bushes; giant inflatable Frankensteins sitting by front doors; large eerie skeletons and ghosts hanging from patio crossbeams; and all manner of signs and gravestones lining the pathway up to a house.
And then there are the pumpkins! Pumpkins everywhere. From large farms selling hundreds and hundreds, to small households flogging the few they have grown in their back garden. Not only do they make for great displays (and I have certainly seen some ingeniously carved ones), but they also taste absolutely delicious. And I don't mean in a savoury way. I mean a sweet way. Pumpkin pie, is simply delicious, but it tastes even better with pumpkin ice cream on top. You could always have a pumpkin milk shake, or maybe a pumpkin latte to stay warm. Then again, you might fancy a pumpkin bagel, with pumpkin cream cheese. I turned my nose up at all this when I first came to the US, my only experiences with a pumpkin being the times on the 29th or 30th October when we scooped out all the smelly seeds etc. in order to cut out an evil face. But now, it gives me something to look forward to in the fall, for these pumpkin flavoured delicacies are limited time only. How else are you going to put on those extra pounds needed to keep you warm in the winter!?
If the pumpkins don't do it for you, you could always spend the afternoon apple picking. I thought it was great fun when we did it a couple of years ago, and you only reap the rewards with an apple pie or too afterwards. Or maybe even a few toffee apples. Now we do have these apple delicacies in England, but not in the same variety or scale. Mass produced toffee apples are found in supermarkets, but any number of local shops will have a huge choice of different types of apples and toppings.
Corn Mazes are also extremely popular this year, and every county across the state holds some sort of harvest festival, with numerous farms opening their doors for great family fun, with mazes to navigate, hay rides to enjoy, and haunted houses to get scared in. I sound like a commercial, but these events are everywhere, and they genuinely sound fun, a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon with the family.
And the sad truth is, we really don't go to these kinds of lengths in England. We don't really celebrate the harvest, we don't put up Halloween decorations a month in advance, and we don't have the same kind of family fun days, where whole towns turn out to the festival. It'd be nice if we did, streets would feel brighter and nicer, as the days get shorter and the nights creep in.
I should probably start looking for a Halloween costume. That's a big deal too. No problems though; I can just to go to one of the huge Halloween Warehouses, which are located everywhere in Wisconsin. Big stores, just dedicated to Halloween. And they don't seem to be short of business. Recession, what recession?
Travelling across the state, I have seen numerous houses wonderfully decorated for the fall. I guess because Wisconsin is such a big farming state, the harvest season continues to hold strong ties over the population. Cute little harvest signs are placed on front doors, miniature hay carts set up outside driveways, and little baskets of autumnal crops adorn patios. The range of these harvest decorations is just staggering; I have seen unique ornaments, plaques, and designs all across the state. And some of them must have cost a small fortune to amass. But that's surely why people get them out in September, and leave them out throughout October. People take pride in how the front of their homes look, and it really makes a difference in these neighbourhoods through which we have been walking, to see these quaint little houses each decorated in their own unique way. It makes them stand out, and look great. I can only imagine what kinds of decorations lie inside.
The same is true of Halloween. Decorations for this ghoulish night have been up since the end of September. Rather early you might say? Well considering how much some of these items must cost, why not showcase them for as long as possible? Why not make what is always a fun night for kids, last for a month? It makes Halloween a little more special, and something to look forward to. The lengths some of these houses go to is truly incredible, and again, it's nice to see people taking a pride in how their home looks, and enjoying it. I have seen fake cobwebs strewn across bushes; giant inflatable Frankensteins sitting by front doors; large eerie skeletons and ghosts hanging from patio crossbeams; and all manner of signs and gravestones lining the pathway up to a house.
And then there are the pumpkins! Pumpkins everywhere. From large farms selling hundreds and hundreds, to small households flogging the few they have grown in their back garden. Not only do they make for great displays (and I have certainly seen some ingeniously carved ones), but they also taste absolutely delicious. And I don't mean in a savoury way. I mean a sweet way. Pumpkin pie, is simply delicious, but it tastes even better with pumpkin ice cream on top. You could always have a pumpkin milk shake, or maybe a pumpkin latte to stay warm. Then again, you might fancy a pumpkin bagel, with pumpkin cream cheese. I turned my nose up at all this when I first came to the US, my only experiences with a pumpkin being the times on the 29th or 30th October when we scooped out all the smelly seeds etc. in order to cut out an evil face. But now, it gives me something to look forward to in the fall, for these pumpkin flavoured delicacies are limited time only. How else are you going to put on those extra pounds needed to keep you warm in the winter!?
If the pumpkins don't do it for you, you could always spend the afternoon apple picking. I thought it was great fun when we did it a couple of years ago, and you only reap the rewards with an apple pie or too afterwards. Or maybe even a few toffee apples. Now we do have these apple delicacies in England, but not in the same variety or scale. Mass produced toffee apples are found in supermarkets, but any number of local shops will have a huge choice of different types of apples and toppings.
Corn Mazes are also extremely popular this year, and every county across the state holds some sort of harvest festival, with numerous farms opening their doors for great family fun, with mazes to navigate, hay rides to enjoy, and haunted houses to get scared in. I sound like a commercial, but these events are everywhere, and they genuinely sound fun, a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon with the family.
And the sad truth is, we really don't go to these kinds of lengths in England. We don't really celebrate the harvest, we don't put up Halloween decorations a month in advance, and we don't have the same kind of family fun days, where whole towns turn out to the festival. It'd be nice if we did, streets would feel brighter and nicer, as the days get shorter and the nights creep in.
I should probably start looking for a Halloween costume. That's a big deal too. No problems though; I can just to go to one of the huge Halloween Warehouses, which are located everywhere in Wisconsin. Big stores, just dedicated to Halloween. And they don't seem to be short of business. Recession, what recession?
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