I'm unashamedly a lover of traditions...they are, in my opinion, such wonderful ways to mark celebrations and to bring delight to ordinary days. Traditions are often only associated with the bigger holidays in the year or more important days of our lives, such as birthdays and anniversaries. I, however, am of the belief that ordinary days need to be marked and celebrated just as much as those bigger, more noticeable days. And autumn for my family is full of special traditions!
Beginning about four or five years ago, we started having what we call an "Autumn Celebration Dinner". Simply put, it's just a little celebration dinner to mark the start of the season. On the first day of autumn every year, towards late September, I make a cozy dinner of some sort of autumnish foods...roasted chicken and veggies, chili, soup, pot pie, etc. Then we always have a dessert with seasonal spices and flavors, usually something pumpkin or spice related. Last year we even had our friend over to join the celebration...it was a splendid time! This tradition doesn't call for much fuss or any real special treatment...we'd be making dinner anyway, we just specifically make it something seasonal and cozy and then add a special dessert to the menu. It's become one of my most favorite days of the year!
Another very simple tradition that I stole from Sarah Clarkson is watching Anne of Green Gables each autumn. This will be the third year that I indulge myself a bit with this peaceful and utterly delightful tradition. I usually make myself a big mug of herbal tea and enjoy a treat whilst I sit back, feet up, wrapped in a warm blanket and settle in for an imaginary journey to Green Gables.
Keeping in line with the subject of movies, we always pull out the DVD seasons of our favorite TV shows and watch the Halloween and Thanksgiving-themed episodes. In all honesty, any episode with those themes always seem to be my favorites, so any excuse I can get to watch them yet again, I'll gladly take. The Harry Potter movies also get played at least once during the season, as well as during the Christmas season.
Inspiration for creating and crafting always seem to return with the first chill in the air. Many evenings are spent with the sounds of clicking knitting needles in the background with lots of conversation and laughter in between each and every stitch. Pulling out our old favorite board games and card games and puzzles also are a common evening rhythm come this time of year. Last year we got really into the Clue game...apparently, I'm really good at that game. Who would have known!
You can start a new tradition at any time, on any day, in any season. Autumn just happens to be one of our favorite times of the year and always ignites something in us to lean in homeward and cultivate cozy rhythms within our four walls. In fact, this year we are beginning a new tradition ourselves! We are going to be having our very first autumn-themed tea party and are hoping for our friends to come and join us. I'm working on gathering all the recipes right now and picking all the special ingredients. I know that I want pumpkin and spice to be the main feature with the sweets and perhaps apple as well. The scones will include one of our favorites as well as a simple cream scone with some autumnish spreads to go alongside. As for the savouries, well, I've got some tasty ideas up my sleeve. Along with our autumn tea party, my sister and I are also planning a Harry Potter-themed tea party for us three ladies to enjoy later in the season...tea parties are my favorite so I love coming up with new ideas and themes to create a party around.
Along with the traditions and rhythms that I've mentioned here, we also always buy pumpkins at the market...always round and plump...and carve at least one into a Jack-O-Lantern for Halloween. We have such fun decorating our home and yard for the season as well and having our traditional cozy Halloween at home each year with special foods and a traditional Irish Halloween bread. We go on numerous drives through the countryside to admire the beauty of the season in nature and make a special afternoon drive down the road to the nearby town centre and take photos of all the autumn decorations that the town puts on display.
Cultivating traditions are the stepping stone in creating lasting memories and contributing to the culture of your home and family. These are just some of my family's autumn favorites, and I'd love to hear from you: What are your family's autumn traditions?
May your day be filled with loveliness and much goodness, dear friends!
♥