By: Riya Gupta A chilly breeze hits your face as you walk out of the front door. Your eyes take in the vibrant leaves flying around in the wind. Squirrels scurry around your backyard collecting acorns while insects are chirping a cheerful tune. Massive flocks of birds glide over your house, migrating south for the winter. The weather is getting colder, and you can just smell the crisp autumn air. Fall means many things. To some, fall is the beautiful nature and the vibrant trees at the park. To others, it’s an opportunity to add color and decorations around the house, and bake their favorite fall dishes. You can celebrate fall’s arrival by placing wreaths and other autumnal colored decorations around your home. You can also place carved or decorated pumpkins outside your door, or create a table centerpiece by spray painting twigs and putting them in a vase. Another easy DIY autumn decoration, is a paper chain composed of links made with red, orange, yellow, and brown paper scraps. When it is finished, the chain can be hung from the ceiling. To create another fall-themed ornament, you can decorate leaves with white paint, glue them to a piece of computer paper or cardstock, and frame it. Another quick design which needs little time and effort, but produces fantastic results, is foil and leaf impressions. All you need to do is grab some fallen leaves from outside, and place them with the veins facing up. Take a piece of tin foil and keep it on top of the leaves. Using your fingertips, gently press down onto the leaves to create imprints on the foil. The intricate details are amazing! If you are looking for some deserts to indulge in, cinnamon donuts, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and warm cider are fan-favorite staples of fall. You can also try a pumpkin spice latte or milkshake! If you enjoy making your own fall treats, try baking cinnamon rolls or making caramel apples. Another delicious fall drink, is chai tea flavored with fall spices, such as cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon; for an extra treat, eat a slice of banana bread with your chai tea. Butterscotch-flavored treats, or salted caramel also make for a very fall-themed snack. If you want to indulge in fall flavors, try a baked sweet potato, or stuffed acorn squash. For those who prefer savory treats over sweets, foods with potatoes and squash are the best way to go! If you want a taste of sweet and salty, make cranberry and chipotle chicken enchiladas! Now, go try all of the fall decorations and foods that you just learned about! I hope you enjoy them!
The recipes for some of the foods mentioned in the article are right here: Cinnamon rolls Chai tea (cold) Chai tea (warm) Sweet Potatoes Sources: Signs of Autumn: Bird Migration, Changing Leaves, Fading Sun | The Old Farmer's Almanac 41 DIY Fall Decor Ideas for All Around the House (thespruce.com) 30 Easy Fall Crafts for Kids and Parents (Do Them in an Afternoon!) (tasteofhome.com) The 15 Best Fall Flavors That Define the Autumn Season (wideopencountry.com) 98 of Our Favorite Savory Fall Recipes (tasteofhome.com)
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By: Riya Gupta Hi everyone! It’s me Riya, back for another year of articles from the Griffin Post! This year, I’ll be writing the Seasonal Topic. Here, you will find articles about everything from the origins of Christmas, to National Hot Fudge Sundae Day. I am super excited to write more articles for you guys! Enjoy reading! Today is the first day of China’s Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, or Harvest Moon Festival. This festival, which follows the Lunar Calendar rather than the typical Gregorian Calendar, is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month - September 29, 2023 this year. The festival marks the end of the Autumn Harvest, and it is a day to worship and admire the moon. Families gather together to thank the moon for a good harvest year and share mooncakes. What are mooncakes, you ask? Mooncakes are round pastries eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, in honor of Chang’e - the Chinese Moon Goddess. Mooncakes symbolize the fullness and perfection of a family reunion; they also symbolize the togetherness, completion, and love each family has for each other. They can be filled with a variety of stuffings, from the traditional egg yoke and lotus paste, to the modern ice cream and fruit. They are so popular and difficult to make, that during the eve of the celebration, they can become more expensive than an iPhone! The festival has been celebrated since the 10th Century BC, but was popularized during the Tang Dynasty. So, what’s the background behind this much-loved celebration? Legend has it that after shooting nine of the ten suns burning the Earth, archer Hou Yi was rewarded with a special elixir that would make him immortal, and allow him to live among the gods of China. However, the elixir was coveted by many. One day, when Hou Yi was outside his house, an evil man named Peng Meng snuck inside and attempted to steal the potion. To protect the Chinese gods and elixir from the thief, Chang’e, Hou Yi’s wife, drank the potion herself. She, along with a rabbit she brought for company, flew to the moon, where Chang’e was to reside. Since then, grief-stricken Hou Yi placed Chang’e’s favorite foods in front of the full moon, in hopes that she will one day return to him.
Now that you know so much about this exciting observance, you might be wondering: what are some easy ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival? You can watch the moon while munching on mooncakes. To decorate, you can hang some paper lanterns around your house, and put up some fairy lights. According to a Chinese and Taiwanese tradition, no Mid-Autumn Festival is complete without a barbecue. Experiment with Chinese recipes to add another element to your celebration. I hope you learned something new about a popular Chinese festival! Enjoy celebrating it! |