Full

Once Halloween and Remembrance Day are behind us for another year, it becomes time to look ahead to that special time of year that immediately follows Autumn’s falling leaves and windy days. And I’m not talking about winter. Oh, I know. Conventional wisdom dictates that after spring, summer and fall, we get winter—right?? Well… not exactly.

As the years have passed, it has come to my attention that in Canada, (and indeed, in most of North America) there is actually a very short but well-loved season that is sneakily sandwiched in between Fall & Winter. It doesn’t really have a proper name, but I like to call this extra season “Full”.

“Full” is a very short-lived season: It starts sometime in late November and goes right through until about the first week of January. During this six week period, while the snow starts and the temperature drops, Canadians (dare I say North Americans) of all types do one thing to the exclusion of almost everything else… we eat. And eat.

And eat, and eat and eat…

We eat at holiday parties, seasonal weddings and family get-togethers. We chow our way through dinner parties and cocktail parties. We arrange cookie exchanges and give each other gift baskets of expensive and lovely food. There are sausage rolls, petit fours, cakes and triffles. Candy, panetone, grandma’s date squares, maids of honour. And don’t forget mashed potatoes, candied yams, dressing, casseroles, and pie

And then we eat it. All of it. With lots of butter, gravy and rich cream.

I like to hold Mother Nature partially to blame for our complete pre-occupation with edibles this time of year. After all, there was a time when - like our animal cousins - our very survival in winter might have depended on our ability to pack on a nice layer of fat in the fall. But those days are long gone and I fear we have become our own worst enemies.

During the “Full”, every desk at every workplace will sport a box of chocolates or cookies; Every home will be decked out with mouth-watering baked goods and appetizers. Every grocery store will hand out free recipes for fat-laden goodies and helpfully display all the ingredients to make them in one place for easy access.

Now, each year, I do an annual vow to myself, promising that I’ll be more discriminating this year and will control myself around shortbread and pumpkin pies - my two biggest weaknesses. But usually, I’ve already admitted to myself that the vow is in vain.

You see, by the time Christmas dinner rolls around, I suspect that I likely will too. Roll around, I mean. Because by then, I’ll have had about 4-5 weeks of unabashed and uncontrolled eating behind me and that dreaded extra weight will have started to climb on.

But there is hope, because as I eat (and waddle) my way through “Full” and into winter, I know that there is yet another “extra” season we sneak into our year…

But lets talk more about how Canadians celebrate “Repent” in the new year, shall we?