Halloween is coming, then we'll see
Faces in the windows smiling at me
Pumpkins on the door step shining bright
Oh, we'll have a good time on Halloween night!
Bobbing for red apples tis such fun.
Then we’ll come a-calling on the run
All dressed up in costumes such a sight
Oh, we'll have a good time on Halloween night!
Oh, we'll have a good time on Halloween night!
I think I told you last year that Halloween is and has always been one of my favorite holidays. My Mom tells great stories of Halloween from when she was a child during the depression, of mischief and pranks and a night that belonged to the children. I have fond memories of bundling up and going out with our wagon lined with an army blanket though the crisp fallen leaves in our neighborhood in the dark night in Maine.
Do you know about the story of the Sugar Sprite? It's one I have mixed feelings about.
On one hand, the candy load can be enormous on Halloween. On the other, it's one day out of the year, it's fun for children to collect their candy, return home, dump out their treasure trove and sort through it and eat from it. Often there are trades to be made that require careful negotiation between the children.
Allowing children to eat their fill on Halloween day is one way they can learn to set some limits for themselves, and learn to appreciate moderation if they over indulge. Limits can be set determined how many pieces may be eaten each day and when in the days following Halloween.
As the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer and darker, the Old North Wind comes to visit and brings gusts of cold breezes. They blow, they blow.
The buzzing bees have gone to sleep, in their cozy warm hives.
Mother Earth has tucked the Flower Children into their beds, deep in the warm earth. They go to sleep in the ground and no longer make sweet pollen for the Sugar Sprite to eat.
Father Sun is snuggled up in the clouds as the days get colder and darker.
We put on our woolies, caps and warm sweaters, to keep ourselves warm and we cover the flower children and bulbs with layers of warm earth and mulch to keep them warm.
The Sugar Sprite is cold too. "Brrrr… how cold it is," she declares as she wraps her arms around herself to her her warm. She doesn't need warm caps, and woolies, and sweaters to keep her warm for she is warmed by the nectar from the blossoms and bees.
She needs sweet nectar and sugar to stay warm through the cold of winter.
The flower children who offer the pollen from their blossoms have gone to sleep, deep in the earth, and the bees who carry it from place to place have gone to sleep in their hives.
Oh dear, the Sugar Sprite has no sweet pollen to keep her warm. Hmnnm…. "whatever shall we do, I wonder."
"I've got it!, we can help the Sugar Sprite. We can share our Halloween candy with her.
At Halloween, our neighbors and friends give us lots of candy, far more candy than we need.
So when we return from trick or treating, we may sample some candy and put aside our very favorites. The rest we can leave on the doorstep for the Sugar Sprite with this verse:
During the night, when the children are fast asleep, the friendly Sugar Sprite comes, takes the candy and leaves a simple gift of thanks. The Sugar Sprite knows what all children like, but sometimes the children write letters or make pictures for the sprite about a week before Halloween so she doesn’t get confused as you can imagine she has to visit a lot of children to collect enough sugar to keep her warm through the coming winter.
We're holding off on carving the pumpkins because the rain disintegrates them if it comes after we've carved them.
What are you doing for Halloween? Any fun costume ideas you'd like to share? Say hello and leave a link below to your Halloween activities. I love to hear from you.
The Sugar Sprite
Halloween is coming and parents often want to avoid the huge consumption of candy that comes with trick or treat. I heard this story many years ago, tried it out with my children and it fell flat. We'd had too many years of trick or treat without the Sugar Sprite behind us. I like that is has the potential to create a satisfying picture for the children and helps to manage the sugar load. The gesture of helping is one I appreciate too. For those who are seeking such a story, here it is:
As the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer and darker, the Old North Wind comes to visit and brings gusts of cold breezes. They blow, they blow.
The buzzing bees have gone to sleep, in their cozy warm hives.
Mother Earth has tucked the Flower Children into their beds, deep in the warm earth. They go to sleep in the ground and no longer make sweet pollen for the Sugar Sprite to eat.
Father Sun is snuggled up in the clouds as the days get colder and darker.
We put on our woolies, caps and warm sweaters, to keep ourselves warm and we cover the flower children and bulbs with layers of warm earth and mulch to keep them warm.
The Sugar Sprite is cold too. "Brrrr… how cold it is," she declares as she wraps her arms around herself to her her warm. She doesn't need warm caps, and woolies, and sweaters to keep her warm for she is warmed by the nectar from the blossoms and bees.
She needs sweet nectar and sugar to stay warm through the cold of winter.
The flower children who offer the pollen from their blossoms have gone to sleep, deep in the earth, and the bees who carry it from place to place have gone to sleep in their hives.
Oh dear, the Sugar Sprite has no sweet pollen to keep her warm. Hmnnm…. "whatever shall we do, I wonder."
"I've got it!, we can help the Sugar Sprite. We can share our Halloween candy with her.
At Halloween, our neighbors and friends give us lots of candy, far more candy than we need.
So when we return from trick or treating, we may sample some candy and put aside our very favorites. The rest we can leave on the doorstep for the Sugar Sprite with this verse:
Sugar Sprite, Queen tonight
Need sugary treats for your heart's delight?
Come to my doorstep, candy awaits,
Linger not at the garden gate.
Sugary sweets to warm you well,
to help you weave your magic spell.
Winter days are coming soon,
Keep warm 'til next Halloween moon.
During the night, when the children are fast asleep, the friendly Sugar Sprite comes, takes the candy and leaves a simple gift of thanks. The Sugar Sprite knows what all children like, but sometimes the children write letters or make pictures for the sprite about a week before Halloween so she doesn’t get confused as you can imagine she has to visit a lot of children to collect enough sugar to keep her warm through the coming winter.
We're holding off on carving the pumpkins because the rain disintegrates them if it comes after we've carved them.
What are you doing for Halloween? Any fun costume ideas you'd like to share? Say hello and leave a link below to your Halloween activities. I love to hear from you.
We don't really do Halloween in the same way: it's definitely a cultural thing. In most areas of the UK we rarely get trick-or-treaters and they tend to be groups of unaccompanied teens with *scary* costumes. So we don't open the door on Halloween night, since we have two small enough to be upset by the costumes.
ReplyDeleteWe have a fire in the garden, remember those we have lost, toast marshmallows, drink home made tomato soup in cups, and talk about the turning of the year and the return of the light we look forward to in Spring. :) We carve pumpkins at some point, always, but we don't usually dress up and we don't trick or treat. :)
Love this! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYour new profile is gorgeous.
Namaste!
What a wonderful idea, the sugar sprite! So cute, my kids are teens now, and they will be busy having fun with their friends, and popping in here for lots of good snacks and hot caramel apple cider. Happy Halloween!
ReplyDeleteLisa - This is such a great idea! The Sugar Sprite/Fairy visited our home this year! I didn't have time to learn the poem, so when the time came I just made up a slightly different story, that the Sugar Fairy drinks nectar from flowers, but there aren't enough for her this time of year so she needs the treats to tide her over 'til Spring's blossoms come. It was perfect! My daughter has been pretending to be the Sugar Fairy (absent treats) for DAYS!
ReplyDeletePeace and Good Health,
Kelly
I am so glad that you like it Kelly and that my work has been such a great help and inspiration to you in your parenting.
ReplyDelete