We are one third of the way through October and although I am not one to wish my life away, I will be relieved when we reach November 30 and the official end of hurricane season.
At the time of writing, we have power and water again and are hoping for air conditioning by the time this is published. Fixing the car damage from falling trees, getting electrical repairs and continuing to work on the yard after Hurricane Helene are next on the list. While Coastal Georgia has been hit hard by Debby and Helene, our thoughts and prayers are with the people still suffering, especially in North Carolina and those affected by the latest Hurricane Milton in Florida.
What else differentiates October, other than the peak of the Atlantic storm season? Did you know that the word October comes from the word octo, the Latin word for “eight” because it was the eighth month of the early Roman calendar? This all changed with the introduction of the Julian calendar in 46BC, and September became the tenth month because January and February were added at the beginning of the year. Even though there were several attempts to rename this month after various Roman emperors, the name ‘October’ stuck.
In early Medieval England, the month was called Winmonath, which means “wine month,” for this was the time of year following the harvests when wine was made. My English ancestors also called it Winterfylleth, or “Winter Full Moon”. They considered an October full moon to be the start of winter and, having myself lived through decades of chilly English October mornings, I can see why. I am very glad that here in Coastal Georgia we still have pleasantly warm temperatures in October.
As you might be aware, in the UK the third season of the year is always called ‘autumn’ but here in the USA, ‘fall’ seems to be much more popular. This is because, by the 1500s, English speakers began calling the seasons separating the cold and warm months by saying “fall of the leaf” or “spring of the leaf,” or “fall” and “spring” for short. English settlers to America brought those phrases with them, although back in Britain, by the end of the 1600s, autumn, from the French word autompne and the Latin autumnus, had overtaken fall as the standard British term for the third season. Around the same time England adopted autumn, the first-ever British American colonists were voyaging to North America, bringing both words with them. By the time of American independence “fall” had become a much more popular way to describe the season before winter here in the newly established country.
Of course, I do sometimes miss the beauty of autumnal days in the UK as the leaves of deciduous trees change color. Most of the year, these leaves are green because of the chlorophyll they use to absorb energy from sunlight during photosynthesis for energy. As the temperatures drop and days get shorter, less sunlight means less chlorophyll, which mean a bold revealing of yellow, orange and sometimes red pigments. Trees then start building a protective seal between leaves and their branches and as the leaves are cut off from the fluid in the branches, they separate and drop to the ground.
My co-workers and grandchildren are already very excited about Halloween at the end of the month– this was not such a big deal in the UK when I was a child, so it is not something I get a big thrill out of. Frankly I am a little more excited about National Dessert Day on October 14, which is also Columbus Day for some and Indigenous Peoples’ Day for others. Today, October 10 is World Mental Health Day and the whole month is dedicated to pink – which represents Breast Cancer Awareness Month. On a lighter note, I am not sure how I am going to celebrate National Kangaroo Awareness Day on October 24 or National Hug a Sheep Day two days later….perhaps I should dress my dogs up as kangaroos and sheep for Halloween, and give them an extra cuddle?
The birthstones for October are opal and tourmaline. Most opals are valued for their shifting colors in rainbow hues and throughout much of human history have been thought to symbolize purity, hope and truth. Tourmaline comes in a wide range of colors and are associated with healing powers and being soothing and calming. October has two birth flowers: the Marigold and the Cosmos. Marigold has bright orange and yellow colors and stands for warm feelings of love. Cosmos is often pink and red and is linked with courage, passion, and making things new. There is a lot more information at www.britannica.com.
I will leave you with a short, warmly evocative poem from 20th Century Irish poet, writer and dramatist, W. B. Yeats. “The trees are in their autumn beauty, The woodland paths are dry, Under the October twilight, The water mirrors a still sky.”
God bless America, and enjoy your October!
Lesley grew up in London, England and made Georgia her home in 2009. She can be contacted at lesley@francis.com or via her full-service marketing agency at www. lesleyfrancispr.com