Thursday, October 31, 2019

Arch

Two grape vine tendrils met in mid-air this summer and formed this arch. Usually the reaching vines get trimmed off before this happens, but I think that the lack of rain meant that the growers didn't have to trim as much as usual this year.

Vine sculpture.

So, it's Halloween. All Hallows Eve. Whatever. The whole costume/trick-or-treat/candy thing is, in its current form, mostly an American invention that hasn't really caught on in France. The French celebrate November 1, la Toussaint (All Saints Day) instead. It's tradition for families to visit the graves of their late loved ones and leave flowers, mostly chrysanthemums. It's also a day off from work, so this will be a three-day weekend for most.

4 comments:

  1. In fact, All Saint's Day and Day of the Dead are two different things, the latter being a day after the former, that is November 2. People go to cimeteries on Nov. 1 because it is a catholic holyday and a day off from work as you say, and the next day is not!

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  2. I wasn’t thrilled to see Halloween catching on around here, although I am looking forward to the third annual Halloween dinner at our very Spanish local restaurant.

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  3. I was driving home from the grocery about 5, in a light rain and just as the kiddies were starting out to trick or treat. Parents holding umbrellas so the elves and woodland sprites wouldn't get wet, and just after I passed through the neighborhood with lots of kids, the skies open up and it poured! Still, this may be the year that they remember years from now: "Do you remember how hard it rained??"
    The whole Halloween thing is a creation of the sugar lobby, but those kiddies are awfully cute.
    And it's because of the candy lobby that the time doesn't change in the US until the weekend after this holiday.

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  4. chm, interesting!

    mitch, tell us what they served!

    emm, I've been seeing similar weather stories around the internet. It certainly rained here, but we don't get trick or treaters. Thankfully.

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