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A Time of Changes
7/11/21 15:35There's no season as showy as autumn. It's hardly the subtle power of spring or the rolling bounty of summer. Nature steps aside in winter and leaves the big gestures to the weather, enduring whatever it brings. But autumn you cannot ignore; the combination of the shorter daylight hours, the cooler mornings and evenings and the plants and trees preparing to sleep the dark and cold away. Change is everywhere at this time of year and it means business.
For me, this is a time to prepare - to get ready for what comes next. This extends to many areas of my daily life - not only is it time to make sure that the house is fit for the cold, making repairs, changing curtains and rugs for something warm, buying candles and matches for cosiness and for the occasional power cut, ensuring that there is fuel to combat the chill, but also on a more personal level than that.
Some scholars believe that for the ancient peoples of Europe, Samhain was the beginning of the year. Summer's end is one proposed translation of the celtic word for this time in November. It is the end of the harvest, the third harvest festival. The cereals were in, the tree fruit was in, the roots and berries that would see them through the dark months were safely stored in the hope that they would last. In my family it is the beginning of the season of anniversaries and celebrations - weddings, births, deaths - for some reason they seem to cluster around this month and the next, as if all the business of living had time to bloom now. It is a time of change - my spirits rise as the days get cooler and the leaves fall, new plans are hatched, creativity has time to bubble up and dark afternoons give me time to read, write, bake, sew and craft like no other season. It is truly when I feel most able to express myself, to dream and make plans. Before the cold comes and after the work of preparing is done.
I think this is an ancient drive, the habits built by hundreds of generations of my ancestors. I take comfort from the thought that in my 21st Century way I am still honouring and showing respect to what the changes in the year might bring.
For me, this is a time to prepare - to get ready for what comes next. This extends to many areas of my daily life - not only is it time to make sure that the house is fit for the cold, making repairs, changing curtains and rugs for something warm, buying candles and matches for cosiness and for the occasional power cut, ensuring that there is fuel to combat the chill, but also on a more personal level than that.
Some scholars believe that for the ancient peoples of Europe, Samhain was the beginning of the year. Summer's end is one proposed translation of the celtic word for this time in November. It is the end of the harvest, the third harvest festival. The cereals were in, the tree fruit was in, the roots and berries that would see them through the dark months were safely stored in the hope that they would last. In my family it is the beginning of the season of anniversaries and celebrations - weddings, births, deaths - for some reason they seem to cluster around this month and the next, as if all the business of living had time to bloom now. It is a time of change - my spirits rise as the days get cooler and the leaves fall, new plans are hatched, creativity has time to bubble up and dark afternoons give me time to read, write, bake, sew and craft like no other season. It is truly when I feel most able to express myself, to dream and make plans. Before the cold comes and after the work of preparing is done.
I think this is an ancient drive, the habits built by hundreds of generations of my ancestors. I take comfort from the thought that in my 21st Century way I am still honouring and showing respect to what the changes in the year might bring.
