An Apple for your Thoughts
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
We've been told about the medical benefits of apples. The fruit also appears in religion, mythology, and folklore. Apple Day neither recognizes its importance nor symbolism. (Apple Day is held on October 21.)
Britons celebrate Apple Day for different reasons, all rooted in agriculture. The national economy is fine, with one third of the gross value coming from arable lands. Great Britain is blessed with mild winters, plentiful rainfall, and fertile soil, all of which are factors in tree growth. So Apple Day is a testament to the abundance of food.
In Chadlington, for instance, locals prepare varieties of apples through food. (Hog roast with homemade apple sauce, apple cider, apple juice.) The only way to enjoy it is to play (apple-inspired) games. No need to worry about the fruit running out, as this is the time of the year to harvest it. In fact, apples were plentiful in Kent a few years ago, which was one good reason for a celebration.
Ted Hobday, head guide at the Brogdale Fruit Collection, said: “The apples are coming two or three weeks early that year,” he said, “and they don’t seem to have lost any of their flavour. The plums lost a little bit of their taste, but the apples seem fine.”
“Also, I don’t know why, but more seem to be dropping than usual. In spite of this, the crop seems pretty good.”
This ocassion is not only the time to be with family, but also a reminder that apples are not delivered on boxes. Talking about the fruit's many representations is unavoidable.
Apple, the mystical fruit
Many would remember the story of Adam and Eve, of how they were banished from the Garden of Eden due to an apple from the forbidden tree. This story provided the scriptural basis for the Fall of man and Original Sin. Then there was the Twelve Labours of Heracles, one of which was the demigod must get a golden apple from the Garden of Hesperides. Another interesting tale from Greek mythology was how Hippomenes managed to win Atalanta's hand by distracting her from the race. Three apples did it.
In “Snow White”, the Brothers Grimm's sinister depiction of the mirror, glass, and apple made the fairy tale popular. Ditto with “The Magician's Nephew”, which transformed Jadis into the White Witch. (Some might debate on this, but the similarity is too hard to ignore.) Last but not the leat, Arthurian romance would recall Avalon, said to be the island of apples. Imagine King Arthur to be stoked, his cheeks turn red.
Rick Riordan's next book series is about Norse mythology. “The Sword of Summer”, set to be released on October 6, 2015, will revolve around Magnus Chase, who happens to be related to Annabeth Chase. Like Annabeth, he's an offspring of a deity. Will the young lad meet the goddess Iðunn, the keeper of golden apples? They have to hold on their apples first.
