Autumn

[Alistair DeCarnys]

 

Arriving home in time for Wyn Monath... a very important time of year in the village near the estate. Wyn Monath is the time for making wine. For many long years we have produced some of very fine and rare bottles of wine. Wandering through the fields and making sure that the last of the harvesting has been done.

This time of year is filled with many events in the village from pumpkin carving to bringing in the last of the harvest. Samhain is the last day of the month. It is an old Celtic festival and a sort of New Year's Eve for those in this day and age that celebrate it. It is the last harvest before the cold sets in. Anything left in the fields is to be left for the spirits and animals were chosen to be killed to sustain the families over the cold winter months.

It was my mother's favorite time of the year. She would gather friends and family and make it into a magical day for everyone, especially the children. She was very passionate about this holiday... I am still unsure of why. I do remember her saying that she believed that the veil between this world and the otherworld was thin on Samhain and the spirits needed to be appeased. A tradition she was unable to pass down due to my father's...

She would carve pumpkins or turnips into horrible faces for our protection and help arrange for a bonfire for the village for good luck in the coming year. Chuckling as I remember seeing an old man jump the bonfire thinking he was surely not going to make it this time. It is an old tradition to bring good luck. Some drive their cattle through the bonfire but that was usually done at Beltaine.

Hearing the footfalls of the housekeeper I look up from my work and smile. “Yes, Aoife, what can I do for you?” She replies softly, “Sir, it is time to light the bonfire”. Looking down at my watch, I nod, “yes, it is”. I set down my current pumpkin. She hands me a lantern, which I take gently from her with a smoldering ember inside to light our way. We set out toward the bonfire.