By Qi.
September is almost gone, and October is around the corner. When I think about the memories of October, I have totally different memories of China and the US.
When I start to write about memories of past October events in China, the primary memory is about the National Day and the following 7-day long holiday. The National Day is on October 1st, and is associated with a large military parade in Beijing. Although China no longer has a parade every year, it still has a smaller parade every 5thanniversary and a larger parade every 10thyear. I usually watch the parade on TV with my family.
In the evening, fireworks are set off in Beijing and other large cities to celebrate the National Day. There are many large groups of flowers put along Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue, which is the main avenue. This 7-day long holiday has always been one of the happiest holidays for me when I was a child, although I still had homework to do. Among these 7 days, the most important day was October 5thand my whole family usually had a trip to the suburban area of Beijing. We climbed a mountain most of the time. I remember that I always competed with my cousins, but I was always behind them because I was the youngest. This was one of a few days that I could get rid of classes and homework and had a chance to walk in nature.
Another thing that I could remember about October is the Hairy Crabs, especially the female crabs, which are one of the most popular foods in October in China. When I was young, the chance of eating Hairy Crabs was only once a year. Hence, they are so precious and tasty for me. The way we cook them is to steam them and serve with vinegar and Chinese wine.
When I moved to the United States, my memories of October have changed. It seems to be the start of the holiday season and is a month filled with pumpkins. You can find pumpkin decorations, pumpkin desserts and pumpkin coffee beverages in the markets. The most important holiday in October is absolutely Halloween. I love all the Halloween decorations. My favorite decoration is the jack-o’-lantern. I like to attend Halloween costume parties and to watch horror films with all the lights off.
Although my memories about October are different between these two countries, there is one in thing they have in common, the fall foliage. I hope that I would get a chance to go to the Upper Peninsula and see the fall colors in Michigan. Since I am not sure if I will be here next year, I have decided to enjoy the upcoming October and try to make it unforgettable.