It is finally time. The time when the weather starts to get cold, the season of gold. Leaves start to fade from green to warm colors, mainly red, orange, and yellow.
Junior Cecilia Waddington has an appreciation for the colors of fall. “I love fall, I love the leaves; how they change,” Waddington said.
We see these changes because fall is the transition from summer to winter. But as someone who has never experienced autumn in the U.S. before, I was wondering, is that really what autumn is about? Scientifically, yes it is.
But I wanted to learn more. My home country, the Philippines, does not have typical seasons; we only have rainy season and summer. I wanted to know about American fall traditions from the perspective of someone who has never celebrated or witnessed celebrations of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and all the activities that an American fall has to offer.
Halloween is an annual celebration held on October 31. It is a holiday where children and adults bond by trying to scare one another. Kids also go trick or treating, dressed in costumes, collecting candies. This tradition serves as the foundation of many happy childhood memories. Americans decorate their homes with scary decorations and display carved pumpkins, giving them funny or scary faces.
Freshman Julianna Carlson loves the costume aspect of Halloween. “I make my Halloween costumes.” Carlson said. Her favorite costume so far is when she cosplayed Pillow from Battle From Dream Island.
Another significant fall holiday is Thanksgiving, held on the last Thursday in November and which commemorates the shared feast celebration between pilgrims and American Indians in 1621. (Today, in American culture, it also marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season.)
Thanksgiving has been and continues to be a holiday to give thanks for the year’s harvest and blessings. Thanksgiving can be a day of prayer for such blessings as safe journeys, military victories, or abundant harvests.
Chorus teacher Cara Ainge is excited to celebrate this Thanksgiving this year. ”I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving because I’m hosting a ‘friendsgiving’ with a bunch of my friends. I haven’t seen a lot of them in a really long time,” Ainge said.
For Thanksgiving this year, Ms. Ainge is making an apple cider turkey, mac and cheese, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a pumpkin and apple pie, which are traditional American Thanksgiving foods.
On Thanksgiving, Americans prepare large meals and eat together, especially enjoying a turkey dinner. People use this time to meet up and bond with relatives from near and far, giving thanks together. Thanksgiving isn’t just a normal holiday, it is a practice of gratitude. It encourages us to count our blessings and reminds us that we should be thankful for all the blessings we receive throughout the year.
Freshman Juliana Carlson describes autumn in terms of select color. “I see warm colors when I think of fall,” Carlson said.
“Warm colors” also known as red, orange and yellow, and these colors are seen in the autumn foliage, in stores this time of year, and in Americans’ seasonal decorations.
This season is all about giving love. The weather might be getting cold, but the hearts of the people are full of warmth. This time of year makes us happy to be with loved ones, enjoying the season and holidays together.
As someone who is new to these traditions, I’m happy that I will be celebrating it for the first time with the ones I really love and care about. I hope everyone enjoys a season that is full of love, happiness, and warmth. These holidays and traditions are for us to enjoy and celebrate with loved ones. Remember that life gives us different seasons. Make the most of them, especially this golden season.
Happy fall season! And happy Thanksgiving!
