HAPPY ACORN DAY!

by Heather the Jane

Okay, I confess, as far as I know, there really is no such established holiday called Acorn Day. But it’s that time of year again. Acorns are crunching under my feet. Well, not as I sit here at my computer, but in the evenings as I walk along the street and pass under the oak trees, that cracking and crunching can be heard.

Honestly, I try to avoid stepping on fallen acorns. Just seems such a waste. And I’m not just thinking of the ambitious, chubby-cheeked squirrel waiting to gather up this booty. An acorn is symbolic of a few things, depending on the resource consulted, including fruitfulness and prosperity. How can I not tiptoe around, then stop to stoop and pocket a few of these precious oak tree nuts on my treks around the neighbourhood?

Some superstitions I’ve read suggest putting an acorn on every windowsill in the house to avoid lightening from striking the home. Oh, and another one I’ve come across claims that if two lovers each put an acorn in a bowl of water, they’re sure to know their relationship’s fate by whether or not the acorns float apart (relationship doom) or come together (good stuff!). Well, I don’t worry about lightning, and I haven’t got a romantic bone in my body, but, I’ve also heard that acorns can attract wealth, good luck and longevity. 

Who am I to argue with superstition?

I picked up this little squirrel-topped treasure on one of my thrift store adventures months ago. It was of course empty when I bought it, but I’ve filled it with acorns and added a few coins. Money amulet? Lucky piece? Or just kind of a nice little trinket for my kitchen windowsill this time of year? All of the above.

Wonderful superstition aside, I just enjoy what the acorn offers on a personal/spiritual level. The feeling I get from it ... Nature keeps going. Life keeps going. From deep inside the smallest acorn, may rise up the mightiest oak. I’m not the first to offer that last sentiment, but doesn’t that just make you want to go gather some more?

"Think of the fierce energy concentrated in an acorn! You bury it in the ground, and it explodes into an oak! Bury a sheep, and nothing happens but decay.”
~  George Bernard Shaw