When I woke up the next morning, the whole farm was already set up in a festive atmosphere. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 Info is decorated with pumpkins, spiders, and black cats, and the first-floor foyer has a wood sculpture of an owl and witch riding a broomstick. This one-man tall wood carving John had seen since he was a child, and it was the work of Susan's grandmother's husband during his lifetime.

The American tradition of celebrating Halloween can be traced back to colonial times. However, due to the strict belief system of Protestantism, Halloween activities, which were originally superstitious and primitive religion, were severely restricted, mainly in Maryland and parts of the southern region.

It was not until the second half of the 19th century, when millions of Irish people fled to the United States due to the influx of immigrants to the United States, especially the potato famine of 1846, that Halloween, a holiday that originated in ancient Celts, developed into a national folk holiday.

Although Halloween is not a federal holiday in the United States, it has long since faded from its original superstition and religious overtones and has become a holiday centered on community parades and celebratory parties. But for the Irish-born Suzanne family, Halloween still has quite a special meaning.

On a day they still offer food and wine to the spirits of their ancestors to celebrate the harvest and pray for peace. Although in the eyes of most Christians, this behavior is somewhat superstitious and ignorant. But John felt very kind, which reminded him of the scene when his grandfather led everyone to incense the ancestral tablet during the Chinese New Year in his previous life.

Little Ella is not very interested in these traditional Irish Halloween customs, and she has been hoping for the evening to come early so that she can go to a nearby town with her new "little sisters" to ask for candy. This is the first time that little Ella has acted alone from her parents, she was too young for Halloween last year, and Adele accompanied her.

When John was a child, only poor children would go door-to-door to ask for food on Halloween, and the children of rich families would only occasionally participate in it for fun. And what they were asking for was not candy, but some change and a kind of pastry called the soul cake. In return, the "beggar" must also pray for the spirits of the giver's relatives and friends. The Church encourages the gift of cake for the soul, hoping to replace the ancient tradition of preparing food and drink for the spirits.

The tradition known as goinga-souling has been replaced by the custom of trickor-treating, where children go door-to-door to neighbours' homes to "beg" and are given candy wrapped in orange, brown and black.

In the evening, little Ella can't wait to change into the witch cloak that Adele has prepared for him, and is ready to go to the town with Grandma Susan's children to beg for candy. The little one put on a pointed witch's hat, small leather shoes with spider decorations, a black cloak, a small broom and a bucket of candy, and a fluffy toy black cat "squatting" on his shoulder, which was simply so cute.

"Ella, only go to the house with a jack-o'-lantern at the door and ask for candy. When the owner goes to get the candy, he must stand at the door and wait, and he is not allowed to enter the house. The candy you get back has to be checked by your mother before you can eat it, remember? Although John would follow from a distance, Adele was still a little worried about her daughter leaving her for the first time to "go alone", and kept reminding her to pay attention to this, to pay attention to that.

"Okay, dear, don't worry, aren't we just around the corner." John stopped his wife's nagging, turned his head and began to tell his daughter again, "Remember to follow a few sisters and not run around alone?" ”

"Got it, Daddy! Ella, witch, go! go!go!go!” The little one screamed excitedly and rushed out the door.

Grandma Susan's farm is located near a small town on the outskirts of Asheville, and the center of town where Ella and her family are going is only a 10-minute walk away. The children were bouncing and laughing along the way, singing the classic Halloween ballad: "Trick or Treat, Trick or Treat, I want something delicious." Trick-or-treating, trick-or-treating, give me delicious ......"

John and Adele followed the group from a distance, watching them knock on the doors of their homes, shouting "TrickorTreat" and getting a lot of candy from their owners. Little Ella is the youngest of the bunch and always gets preferential treatment and the most candy.

Soon, her keg was full and she had to run back and pour the candy into her mom and dad's pockets. After repeating it twice, even John and Adele couldn't get so much candy, so little Ella didn't continue to ask for it. But she still insisted on knocking on every house in the town with her friends before she would go back with John.

Fortunately, the town is not big, and there are only twenty or thirty households with pumpkin lanterns hanging at the door, and John and Adele let her go. The little guy's "celebrity training" training in recent months has been hard enough. Originally, John took Ella out this time, in addition to avoiding the "Martian invasion" riot, it also had the intention of letting his daughter relax in it. It's rare for my daughter to have such a good time, so let her indulge it once.

The next morning, little Ella woke up late and looked unrefreshed. The little one had so much fun last night that he was excited and fell asleep late. Coupled with the shouting, singing and laughing last night, Ella's voice was a little hoarse.

"Dad, do we have to go back today?" Little Ella asked a little pitifully. Life here is so much fun, the little one doesn't want to go back to Washington at all.

John also felt that the two-day vacation was a bit too short, and the money would never be earned anyway, so since he had already brought Ella out, he would just play with her for two more days. He thought for a moment and said to Adele, "Why don't we go to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park today, it's 50 kilometers away." I heard that there are cabins for tourists, and we can stay there for one night and drive back to Washington tomorrow morning. ”

As soon as they said they could go, John quickly asked Grandma Susan to help them prepare camping utensils, from kitchen utensils and cutlery to kerosene and blankets. Grandma Susan also prepared barbecue ingredients and a big blue road food for them.

After breakfast and lunch, John's family set off. It's just over half an hour's drive from the farm to the west entrance of Great Smoky Mountain National Park. But inside the park is very large, with an area of 80 square kilometers of primeval forest alone. It is at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains and is home to some of the best-preserved temperate deciduous forests in the world.

It's late autumn, and the mountains are full of brilliant golden yellow, and wisps of mist surround the mountains and fill the canyons. This dense fog, formed by the water vapor evaporated from the forest, lingers near the surface for a long time, hence the name of the Great Smoky Mountain.

The national park, which had just been established in 1934, was so big that John and his family didn't have time to explore it in detail, so they made a beeline for the Cherokee Indian town.