updated October 7, 2025
October is a fun month, not too demanding. It’s the first full month of spring/fall, depending on where you live, and the month before the annual Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season starts.
I’m sharing some October topics with you in this post.
The Halloween Season
Pumpkins are everywhere . Halloween and fall decor and displays get bigger and more outlandish every year. And almost every food or drink has a variation flavored with pumpkin.
Football and other Sports
And football season is in full swing. Whether kids, high school, college, or pro, fans are in the stadiums or in front of televisions cheering their favorite team. Some folks just show up for the food as tailgating has become a sport in itself
Columbus Day, October 13
The United States has one federal holiday this month, Columbus Day, the second Monday of October. This day commemorates October 12, 1492, the day Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, reached the Americas. (Although he never landed in what is now the United States.)
“Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator. In 1492, he sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain in the Santa Maria, with the Pinta and the Niña ships alongside, hoping to find a new route to India.
Between 1492 and 1504, he made a total of four voyages to the Caribbean and South America and has been credited – and blamed – for opening up the Americas to European colonization.” from Biography.com
Indigenous Peoples’ Day-October 14
Before Columbus and other Europeans arrived in the Americas, indigenous people already lived in North America. I’m not going to recount the long history of their interactions, but by presidential proclamation, we now commemorate them on the second Monday in October-Indigenous Peoples Day.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 10, 2022, as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also direct that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day in honor of our diverse history and the Indigenous peoples who contribute to shaping this Nation.
I wrote about Native Americans in this post about watercress and in another about my trip to New Mexico.
The Rich History of Watercress in Native American Culture
In 1889, the Locvpokv Muscogee Creeks established the village of Talasi near the Arkansas River, later called Tulsa. The Council Oak remains a cultural landmark, where Native Americans hold ceremonies. This article explores watercress and its culinary uses, highlighting its significance to local indigenous communities and the environment.
Keep reading
The Art and Science of New Mexico
Taos is an art mecca both within the town and at the Taos Pueblo, which is also a must see for those interested in Native American history and culture. At the pueblo, tribe members display and sell handmade arts and crafts.
Keep readingThe Great Chicago Fire
On the night of October 8, 1871, fire spread across Chicago, Illinois. While the cause of the blaze is unknown, its origin was at what today is home to a Chicago Fire Department training facility.
An estimated 300 people died and 100,000 were left homeless by the three-day inferno that erased 2,100 acres of the city. The center of Chicago and the heart of the business district were wiped out. Yet, just 20 years after the fire, the city’s population had grown from 300,000 to 1 million people. from architecture.org
Today Chicago is the third largest city in the United States. (2022 stats) See my photos of Chicago in this post.
Tuesday Travels- Chicago Illinois
Chicago, now the third largest United States city, was once destroyed by a fire of uncertain origin. It hosts an annual St. Patrick’s Day parade and offers tourists multiple attractions and experiences.
Keep readingSquirrel Hill Pennsylvania-October 27
We will never get used to hearing and reading about mass shootings but some are particularly heinous, those that happen in a school, healthcare facility, or house of worship. That happened on October 27, 2018, with which I had an unexpected connection. I wrote about it here.
A goodbye to healers who listened-Squirrel Hill mourns and heals
I was horrified by news that another mass shooting had occurred, this time at a synagogue in a community called Squirrel Hill. A few days later, I realized I had seen that name before. I had met someone who lives and works there.
Keep readingHalloween-October 31
Whether you like it or not, October is known for Halloween. While some reject it as pagan or evil, others find a way to make it fun and enjoyable without dark overtones.
Halloween, contraction of All Hallows’ Eve, a holiday observed on October 31, the evening before All Saints’ (or All Hallows’) Day. The celebration marks the day before the Western Christian feast of All Saints and initiates the season of Allhallowtide, which lasts three days and concludes with All Souls’ Day.
from brittanica.com
exploring the HEART of health
Whatever ways you choose to observe the “holidays” of October, have fun, stay safe, respect others, and please follow and share Watercress Words.
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