Hello, Word Artists and Admirers! Summer is winding down in the Philly ‘burbs and I have more than one friend looking forward to the start of spooky/ pumpkin spice season. My tea ceremony practice has me more conscious of the beauty in each season, though I do prefer warm to cold. In Japan, spooky season is NOW. LOL, I like bringing out some of my yokai (a.k.a. mysterious and often creepy creatures) related items for tea. My teacher even has indulged me at times by finding yokai related sweets.
For our next Weekly Scribblings, Rosemary would like to invite you to choose one object in nature, examine it closely, letting it inspire in you a sense of wonder, and then write your new poem or prose piece about it (prose to be 369 words maximum).
Now it's on to the pantry. I'm taking poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction, old and new pieces. Be sure to keep your prose to 369 words or fewer and one entry per person, please and thank you!
I have mixed feelings about Halloween in Australia, because it really stems from a seasonal festival, and here – because we follow the same date as in the Northern Hemisphere – the season is just wrong. It makes sense to me that scary things might abound on dark, wintry nights, and kids would need to go out in large parties, guided by the lights in pumpkin lanterns. It must be great fun, and deliciously spooky too! But here, with the sun high in the sky well into the evening (and our home-grown pumpkins with shells too tough to carve) it seems ridiculous to me. However, I don't like to spoil the kiddies' fun, so I make sure to have some lollies on hand in case any come knocking – even though I seriously doubt they have a clue about the real meaning of the tradition.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't realized that it was still celebrated in October where you are. That could be fun for kids who don't want to hide a cool costume under a coat, but I think Halloween requires a certain amount of night time.
DeleteLike so many things, we copied it from America – a number of years back now, but within my memory, i.e. I can recall many years when Australians didn't observe it or know much about it at all. When it did creep in, it was without any real understanding, and of course the USA date was copied along with other things. (Local Pagans, of course, observe Samhain at the right seasonal time, but we don't do anything very Halloweeny for that; it's somewhat more like the UK Samhain.)
DeleteMorning Fellow Writers, I wish you a wonderful Sunday. I'll be reading you!
ReplyDeleteMornin', Khaya!
DeleteI am SO ready for fall and Halloween.
ReplyDeleteI would say that I can't wait to take out my witchy themed clothing, but I already plenty of warm weather versions on hand. :D
DeleteHee hee. Down South, we might have all seasons make an appearance on the same day, any time of the year.
DeleteGood day, poets & story writers!
ReplyDeleteTalking about a spooky season, us Chinese in these part of the world are observing the lunar 7th month, otherwise known as the Ghost Month. So yes, the people (us chinese) refrain from moving house, renovations, and wandering about at night. :)
Oh cool! Thank you for letting me know that. Do other Asian countries in addition to Japan and China have similar traditions around this time of year?
DeleteThe Chinese Buddhists and Taoists observe this festival month in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, and especially Taiwan. It used to be big here, but as the older generations died off, it is not so elaborate, but still observed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the follow up info!
DeleteIn my mind, spooky time is ALWAYS! Still, I can't wait for October... And not just because I'm so ready for cooler days.
ReplyDeleteLOL, just as I suspected!
DeleteI am sharing a link to something truly spooky, horrible, and terrifying
ReplyDeleteHello! A most gratifying aspect of Poets and Storytellers ~~ learning about writers’ homelands / customs / fascinating facts. Makes all of us a bit more enlightened!
ReplyDeleteThis note is for peppermint. I tried to access your piece through the link here and wasn't able to get through. I am so sorry about that
ReplyDeleteMe too.
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