Do the seasons evoke memories and feelings for you?
When I was small, autumn meant the start of school. October was the ramp up to my birthday, and then a few days later, Beggars Night and Halloween. Halloween has always been tangled up with my birthday, so that they seem to be one in the same. Cooler weather, carving pumpkins, pressing leaves, candy and Halloween costumes were all part of one big celebratory period. In my mind, it was a magical time, full of promise, mystery and surprises.
When I was a little older, we moved south to Florida, and autumn was very different – gone were the colored leaves, cooler temperatures and the significant change of the seasons. Halloween and my birthday were no less tangled, but the atmospheric indicators were no longer so strong. I spent most of my life in Florida, and we developed our own traditions of what Halloween should be, and how it should feel. Mostly it was very warm and the faux autumn leaves that stores attempted to foster on us, felt strangely hollow and inauthentic.
Since 2001, I’ve been in DC, and the old autumn feelings of my childhood stir, the cool weather, changing leaves, and the magic that Halloween can bring, has come full circle.
What does this time of year signify for you?
