Fall is here!
Has anyone else noticed that we are more than halfway through September? How did that happen? Starbucks has been selling Pumpkin Spice lattes for three weeks. I am sad to see summer go, as I am every year, but autumn always brings much to look forward to.
If you ask me, fall is a great time of year – if we are graced with a few weeks of it. The library is abuzz with school children again, story times are filled with tiny listening ears belonging to kids who are eager to learn, and adults are gearing up for Ghost Walks and other great programs. Outside the library, nature is going through a change too.
Today just happens to be the Autumnal Equinox. This means that there are equal hours of day and night on this one day each year. After today, nights will continue to get longer and days shorter until the Winter Solstice – the shortest day of the year with the least amount of daylight. If you’re looking for a great children’s book on this very subject, might I suggest “We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season” by Wendy Pfeffer? You can find it at the Sweetwater County Library under the call number J 508.2 PFEF. This book explains not only the Autumnal Equinox, but a variety of ways that different cultures celebrate the harvest season.
I think many Americans associate autumn with Halloween and Thanksgiving, but most are not aware of the wonderful ways people in other countries, and throughout history, celebrate or celebrated this time of year.
In ancient Greece, fall is associated with the time the goddess Persephone returned to the underworld to be with her husband Hades. According to Greek mythology, Persephone had to spend the fall and winter months in the underworld and the spring and summer months on Earth. The weather is said to be cold when Persephone is in the underworld and warm when she emerges.
In China and Vietnam, many people celebrate the Moon Festival around the time of the Autumnal Equinox. This is a time to rejoice in the harvest, make offerings to the moon, and gather with friends and family. Traditionally during the Moon Festival, people eat moon cakes, carry lanterns, and play games.
Ohigan is a Buddhist holiday celebrated in Japan on both the Autumnal and Vernal Equinoxes. Both are national holidays. On this day, many Buddhists will visit, clean, and decorate the graves of their ancestors.
Now that we’ve broadened our horizons a bit and learned about a few different cultures, I’d like to mention one more way to celebrate autumn.
One of my absolute favorite things to do in fall is bake. The weather is cool, and I don’t have to worry about heating up my kitchen by turning on the oven. I have always been a fan of pumpkin as an ingredient in a good recipe, and I’ll never turn away a slice of pumpkin pie.
Check out the Sweetwater County Library’s cookbook selection for some great fall-themed recipes. For pies, turn to “A Year of Pies: A Seasonal Tour of Home Baked Pies” by Ashley English. You’ll find it on the shelf under 641.8652 ENGL. This book is split up into seasons. I urge you to check out the autumn section. I guarantee you’ll find a recipe to try. While you’re at it, check out Deborah Madison’s “Seasonal Fruit Desserts.” If you’re a fruit lover as I am, this book features pies, tarts, and cakes to die for.
I also think of fall as the time to bake bread and bread-like dishes. I made the Swedish Cardamom Braid found in “The Artisan Bread Machine” by Judith Fertig a few weeks ago. It was lovely. Cardamom is one of my favorite fall spices. My last recommendation is to look through “Soup Night” by Maggie Stuckey.
I associate soup with autumn and winter. I haven’t cooked anything from this book, but just paging through it, the pictures are very enticing, and really, who doesn’t love a good bowl of soup on a cool autumn night?
Take a look at the Sweetwater County library’s cookbook selection and its books about autumn and its great celebrations. Make sure to also pick up an events guide when you stop in so you can mark your calendars for all the great fall events the library offers.
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