The Dance of the Harvest, Halloween, Samhain, Dia de Muertos

If you live in the city, you may not appreciate the change of seasons as much as those of us who live outside an urban area.

While I've always enjoyed the change of seasons (as a gardener, even in the city I paid attention to their passing), I especially notice them nowadays.

On my drive from Hoopeston, IL to my shop in Urbana this morning, I saw one of the huge harvesters just pouring down a shower of golden corn into a trailer. A glorious sight that brought home to me what all the acres of corn and soybeans are about.

Mind you, I tend to favor smaller, organic gardens and the concept of organic farms. Nonetheless, there is beauty in seeing the dance of the harvest on such a grand scale. Yet to produce this harvest, corn, soybean and other plants must die.

Halloween, Samhain, Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead), All Souls, are all holidays that, in their own way, celebrate the concept of harvest. The seed of the grain harvested this Autumn will not only feed people, cattle or fuel cars, it will give us future harvests when planted. Even in the death of the corn (or wheat) is found life. These holidays, which celebrate the dead, also acknowledge the living and our connection to the circle of life and death.

Many blessings to you and yours during this harvest season.