At this point, if you’re still surprised that this is another post related to Autumn, I honestly don’t know what you expected :’) It’s a special time of year, & it’s all I can do to contain my excitement. This week, I want to share a few of the traditions that always take place around this time of year for me. Some of these have been in my family since before I was born, others are more recent, and some are mine alone!
Football!!!!
The very first thing that always happens, without fail, regardless of whether the weather wants to act appropriately, is COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!!! I wasn’t always such a big fan of it, but in recent years, I’ve grown to love it & prefer it over the NFL. Throughout the week, I listen to The Solid Verbal & the Auburn All Access Podcast, read articles about big games, and wait restlessly for Saturday to come. I’m an Auburn Tigers fan myself, so another tradition that falls under this scope is the big rivalry game, The Iron Bowl, between Auburn and Alabama that occurs over Thanksgiving weekend. You best believe that I am definitely an avid viewer of that 😉
Decorating & Mt. Hermon
I always decorate my room for the season right around the first day of Autumn. I have so much fun making my room look all warm & festive. I’ve written a blog post on some of the pieces & setups I’ve got in my room: you can read that here if you’d like! When it comes to taking all of this down, I like to do it the day after Thanksgiving, and that’s another prompt tradition of mine. As soon as these decorations come down, the Christmas ones go up! But I shouldn’t get ahead of myself just yet :’)
A tradition that has been in my family for over twenty years is an annual, weekend trip in November to a beautiful place near Santa Cruz. It’s called Mt. Hermon, and every year the extended family on my dad’s side have rented a cabin or two up there. We always aim to go during Veteran’s Day weekend. This is a time we all look forward to–we unplug, we’re without Wifi, & we spend so much time together while making so many memories.
Thanksgiving!!
Of course, Thanksgiving is the biggest holiday of this season, and my extended family on both sides go big & celebrate this in a special way. On my mom’s side, we always gather at my Nana’s house for a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We have a smorgasbord of homemade desserts for the aftermath of turkey. Some of us tune into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade; we all watch the big football game of the day, and in the evening, whoever’s still around will gather around for A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Of course, we don’t just spend the day watching television; we talk, laugh, play board games, go outside and try to burn off some of the calories, and have a lovely time together.
On my dad’s side, we take turns hosting Thanksgiving. Usually whoever is hosting makes the turkey & stuffing. Others will fill in some of the traditional side dishes like the mashed potatoes, yams, etc. My aunt makes an amazing green bean casserole that is to die for!! After or before eating, we all go around and share what we’re thankful for. My grandpa usually always led us in a prayer of thanks, and last year was incredibly special as he prayed a blessing over all of us before the meal. We will always look back on that with gratitude especially since it was his last Thanksgiving with us.
That’s it for this post; thank you for reading! What are some of your Autumnal traditions?! I’d love to hear them in the comments 🙂