How many ways to worship the pumpkin?

Sitting on my countertop are a pair of perfectly round orange pumpkins, in Giant and Junior sizes. Just like you imagine a pumpkin ought to be (if you were raised on a diet of 1970's American-influenced television culture). They're not the squat grey Queensland blue's we know and love. Nor are they the dark green with yellow mottling Japonica's or Japanese or whatever it is we call them. These are very definitely big and round and orange. And here in the USA it is the season of pumpkin worship. Everything orange gets a guernsey during 'fall' (that's autumn to regular folk). As I look out the window I see the treetops turning all hues of reds, yellows, and oranges; the 'Fall Fashion' designers have been liberal with ochres, none of which suit me, damn it; and the seasonal home decorations, of which there are endless, include orange 'frosting' (icing) for cookies, plastic wreaths and garlands of autumnal leaves and all manner of pumpkin products, the real deal and the imitation. I doubt there's this much orange at a Hari Krishna convention. (The robes...?)

It begins with Halloween and goes through Thanksgiving and at this stage, I'm not sure exactly where it ends. So, when in Rome....

We went pumpkin picking at a local farm and chose our Jack o' Lantern specimens. By 'picking' I don't mean we took them off the vines. They were spread out on the open ground and we 'selected' our pumpkins. No need for gumboots and farm clothes here apparently - the place was full of designer parents and high heels. Hardly a sensible choice. I'd have laughed if we'd had a sudden downpour and the harmless dust had turned to mud. But it was well set up for kids. Lots of photo opps, face painting and general kid fun. We also took our first hayride and the smallest of us had her first pony ride - and loved it. For a kid who doesn't like the unknown, she took to the pony without any trouble. I hope I haven't got a 'pony-club-and-ballet-classes' babe here, that so goes against the grain! (Where's my tomboy?)

I bought a pumpkin carving kit and we will be carving our Jack o' Lanterns next week. I am reliably informed that if you do it too early, they rot and get smelly, or the lid dries out and falls into the lantern. I guess after a while its inevitably going to look like Granny with her teeth out, but by that time I expect we'll be onto Thanksgiving preparations and Halloween will be consigned to memory, photographs and bowls of leftover, over-sweet candy in the house. We will of course be escorting the Wee Child on her first official trick or treat outing. It's a new experience for all of us, so I'm going to try and make it a family event. Now if I can just get Darling Husband interested...

I have to remember to buy a stack of giveaway candy too. I forgot last year in Australia (like its our holiday?!) and as some darling little charmer who knocked on my door and was disappointed by my lack of appropriate 'treats' for her and her friends pointed out to me: "It's on the 31st of October, you should put it in your diary for next year." Well, just try knocking this year, lovey.

This end of the year is the official holiday season here in the USA. After the long, hot summer (most of which we missed) it's back to the reality of work and school broken only by significant and regular holiday celebrations. They love a party in this country, and any excuse to regularly decorate towns, cities and individual homes in garish overabundance. From Australia I've watched TV sitcoms do Halloween specials and thought that through the magic (and budget) of television they perhaps went a bit far. But no, it can be done by the ordinary person on the street. Party supply stores abound, and they're huge and packed to the rafters with costumes, tricks, scary decorations - fancy a tombstone, a skeleton, or a cauldron for your lounge? - get it at the Halloween shop. There's a house nearby with tombstones, ghosts, spectres, spiders, witches, scarecrows and lights, lights, lights covering the entire front yard. This will apparently all disappear after the holiday to make room for a Christmas theme of unbelievable extravagance. I'm told this guy loves to decorate for the holidays. But it's only a small house - I'm wondering where he keeps it all from year to year.

For a country that went to a lot of trouble to eschew British traditions (remember the Boston Tea Party?) they sure embrace the pagan holidays of the British/European pre-Christian era. But I guess that's one way to deal with all these pumpkins.