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FALL

Pumpkin Indulgence, the USA

Fall is my absolute favourite time of the year! When the days are getting shorter and it starts being colder, it is time to put on a warm sweater, and to cheer up with pumpkin spice lattes, warm pumpkin soup, and visit one of the many pumpkin patches in the USA.

Pumpkin Spice

When the fall starts here in the USA, everybody cannot wait to taste the Starbucks fall specialty, the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Pumpkin Spice contains a mix of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. Pumpkin is rich in nutrients, vitamins A, B, and C, minerals and fiber, which helps to boost your immune system and helps fight infections, especially for the cold and flu season. The pumpkin trend is all over the country. There are many different produces to taste as well, such as: pumpkin bread, muffins and cookies. Coffee creamers and pumpkin beer are also very popular. The reason why the pumpkin produces with warming spices are so popular because they are indulgent and remind of bank holidays and coziness.

Jack O’Lanterns Tradition

It was a Celtic tradition of Ireland and Scottish Highlands to carve a turnip, potatoes or beets on Hallows Eve and put an ember in it to ward the evil spirits off.

The legend goes that Stingy Jack was an old stingy man that liked to play tricks on people. Jack even played a trick on Devil trapping him in an apple tree surrounded by crosses. To be released, the Devil had to promise he wouldn’t take Jack’s soul after he died. And when Jack died, he got stuck in between heaven and hell. Jack was destined to go to hell, but as the Devil promised, he wouldn’t let him in. So poor Jack’s soul was doomed to be in the darkness, neither in heaven, nor hell. However, the Devil threw Jack an ember. Jack placed it in his lantern (hence Jack O’Lantern) to lighten his way in the darkness.

Today, carving the pumpkin is more a family fun activity. And all starts with the pumpkin patch. The best is to pick your favourite perfect pumpkin at the pumpkin patch!

Pumpkin patch

It is a typical American tradition to visit pumpkin patch each fall. There are many options to choose from in each region. This is the fun for both kids and adults. Get lost in a corn maze, take a hayride, enjoy the sounds and smell of autumn. There is always a kids’ zone, where there is a jump pad, rope maze, cow barrel train, a petting zoo, a spooky farmhouse, and other great activities. Walk along through orange dotted fields and pick your own pumpkin. Take a break in between the activities and taste some apple cider slushies, caramel apples, apple cinnamon donuts, and apple fritters. After the afternoon of amazing activities, enter the farm shop, choose one of many delicious farm products: homemade sauces, and butters.

Vocabulary

pumpkin patch – a field where pumpkins grow (pole z dyniami)

ginger – a pungent aromatic rhizome used as a spice and sometimes medicinally (imbir)

cloves – the dried flower bud of a tropical tree used as a pungent aromatic spice (goździki)

nutmeg – a spice that consists of the ground seeds of a small tropical tree grown especially in Indonesia (gałka muszkatołowa)

nutrients – a substance that provides nourishment essential for growth and the maintenance of life (składniki odżywcze)

fiber – the part of food that helps a person healthy by keeping the bowels working and moving other food quickly through the body (błonnik)

creamer – liquid or powder used as substitute for milk or cream in coffee, tea, and other beverages (śmietanka do np. kawy, herbaty, etc.)

indulgent – treating with special kindness (przyjemny)

carve – to cut a solid material to form something (rzeźbić)

turnip – a round root with white or cream flesh which is eaten as a vegetable and has edible leaves (rzepa)

ward off – prevent (ustrzec się przed czymś)

stingy – unwilling to give or spend (skąpy)

soul – the spiritual, immortal part of a human being or animal (dusza)

doomed – likely to have an unfortunate and inescapable outcome; ill-fated (skazany na zgubę, przeklęty)

ember – a small piece of burning coal or wood in a dying fire (rozżarzony węgielek)

maze – a confusing intricate network of passages (labirynt)

hayride – a pleasure ride in a wagon, or an open truck that is partly filled with hay or straw (jazda na sianie)

slushy – a drink made of favored iced crystals and juice (napój z pokruszonego lodu i soku)