Tradition & Ritual: Why We Crave Pumpkin In The Fall

[beth]

Why We Crave Pumpkin Flavors In The Fall


The Wall Street Journal labeled it a "Halloween horror story." The Internet called it something else: a "pumpkin panic."

During the first week of October 2012, the Journal reported that Starbucks stores around the country were running out of the syrup used to make its Pumpkin Spice Latte — one of several fall drinks the chain releases seasonally, for a limited time.

Customers, like those who frequent StarbucksGossip.com, were shocked.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING?" wrote one user.

The answer is simple.

"We need rituals," said Katherine Sredl, assistant professor in the Department of Marketing at the University of Notre Dame.


Sredl, who studies consumer consumption and seasonality, said that it's no surprise when big-name items, like a spiced latte in October or brand of shoe during back-to-school shopping season, become inextricably linked with the season in which they appear.

Make these fine fall desserts

"I think what consumers do really well is they place their products inside the meaning of those rituals," Sredl said.

Buying becomes its own ritual, which can be a powerful marketing tool.

"Rituals, when they go well, give you a good emotional feeling, that's what people want," Sredl said. "They want to feel like there's something they can rely on."

But breaking a ritual brings a similar impact, and that's what happened with Starbucks. People come to rely on these products, Sredl said, and enjoy the feeling of reliance they provide.

This pattern of behavior isn't unusual. During the back-to-school shopping season, which Sredl has studied specifically, shoe-buying often dominates and parents have been known to panic if the shoe or size or price they're hunting is suddenly unavailable.

Consider Christmas. "Usually in marketing when we think about seasonality, we think about Christmas because it's such a huge retail season. But it's not the retail really — in this case, the pumpkin spice — that created the phenomena," Sredl said. "It's the change of seasons.

Stan Frankenthaler, Dunkin' Donuts' executive chef, is no stranger to the strong relationship customers build with their seasonal treats — whether it's a new latte or new donut.

Dunkin' got into the pumpkin game about eight years ago, Frankenthaler said, and hasn't stopped. In September, Dunkin' announced new pumpkin-flavored K-Cups, for brewing coffee, alongside pumpkin muffins, donuts and cream cheese.

Annually, the company uses about 100 million pounds of pumpkin puree — with good reason.

"[Customers are] saying 'more pumpkin, more pumpkin, more pumpkin,'" Frankenthaler said.

More pumpkin is one of the most frequent customer requests, through sites like Facebook, he said. "And we're saying to ourselves, 'Wow, they love pumpkin that much. What else can we do?'"

It helps that pumpkin has its roots in fall festivities. Both Sredl and Frankenthaler said celebration is a major hook for ritual-making, whether it's celebrating the last day of Christmas or the first day of spring. One reinforces the other.

"Food really is about that in-the-moment celebration," Frankenthaler said. "No one is thinking about eating pumpkin when you're still wearing a bathing suit."


www.cnn.com/2014/09/15/living/why-you-crave-pumpkin-flavors-eatocracy/index.html?hpt=li_c2

[beth]

Which brings us around to the REAL topic of this Deep Thought thread.

Rituals and Tradition

What's the difference between customs, traditions, rituals, and ceremonies?

by Linda Neale


It's a good question. We tend to confuse these various terms and sometimes use them interchangeably. Basically, there's a lot of similarity between traditions and customs. The difference has to do with how long they've persisted. Customs are probably the most common and short-lived practice. One of the origins of the term "custom" has to do with "habit". So, you can think of custom as any frequent or common repetition of a social convention. For example, I have a custom of singing a certain song almost every morning as I begin my day (some of you have heard that song).

Customs become traditions when they are passed on to succeeding generations. The word "tradition" comes from "traditus", which means "to deliver", so a tradition is a custom that is delivered and accepted by subsequent generations. My custom of singing my song hasn't been passed on to my daughter, so I don't think I could call it a tradition (yet).


The words "ritual" and "ceremony" go a little deeper, and are sometimes used interchangeably, even by anthropologists. However, if you look at the origin of the words, there is a significant difference between them. The word "ritual" is related to rites (a formal solemn act observance, or procedure in accordance with prescribed rule or custom).


The word "ceremony" comes from from "caeremonia" which means "sacredness". Unlike ritual, ceremony includes the sacred -- it's a total experience, involving our bodies, minds, emotions, and our spirits. Intention is also very important in ceremony, just as it is in business. When intention is lost—which can sometimes happen— the ceremony can feel empty and becomes a “meaningless ritual.” I'm sure we've all felt that in various events that we've attended.


The primary events we call ceremonies today in the United States and western Europe include graduations, weddings, inaugurations, and funerals. They usually last no more than a few hours, and are functions that many attend out of social obligation. Particular relig­ious traditions may have ceremonies such as bar and bat mitzvahs or confirmations that can be very meaningful and do have a spiritual fo­cus. However, most of the so-called ceremonies in today’s modern cul­ture have no spiritual intention whatsoever. For example, a couple can be married by a justice of the peace at a wedding whose primary pur­pose is legal, not spiritual. Graduations from all public and most pri­vate high schools and colleges are usually devoid of spirituality of any kind because of our government’s emphasis on the separation of church and state. And funerals, the most likely of our ceremonies to have religious or spiritual overtones, are often used as ministerial platforms for conversion speeches. Although we still call them “wed­ding ceremonies” or “graduation ceremonies,” children raised in mod­ern culture can grow up and live their lives never having experienced a real ceremony.


Native American ceremonies always have a spiritual focus and a specific intention -- not a religious focus, a SPIRITUAL focus. However, tradition is different than ceremony. It's not always clear where a particular tradition originates, or why. Some people think their way is the "most correct", or the "most traditional".

Here's one of my favorite stories about a ritual/tradition/custom. It's called "The Easter Ham".


"As a little girl watches her mom prepare the Easter ham, she wonders why her mother cuts off both ends of the ham before putting it in the pot. So, she asks why, and her mom realizes that she doesn't know. That's the way her mother prepared the Easter ham.


So they call grandmother and pose the question about cutting off the ends of the Easter ham. Grandmother admits to not knowing either. She just prepared the ham the way her mom did it.

Their next call is to great-grandmother. When they ask her about her method of preparing the Easter ham, she laughs. Then she says, "It was the only way I could get the Easter ham to fit the small pot I had!"


www.lindaneale.com/linda-neales-blog-1/whats_the_difference_between_customs-_traditions-_rituals-_and_ceremonies

[beth]

OTOH, I was taught that ritual could apply to something as small as which shoe we put on first. Not a formal ritual, of course but a personal ritual.

I think tradition and ritual used sparingly are comfortable and reassuring. For example, unless there's a good reason why not, I get up in the morning, make my cuppa tea and drink it while reading the news and a favorite site, online. It isn't a "habit" ... I don't do it automatically with no aforethought; it's a conscious choice that works well for me. If I don't do it, I feel kind of out of kilter ... a-tilt.

Ceremony and tradition , to me, are more of an occasion and usually mark some kind of holiday event or milestone.

So ... traditions and rituals ... what do these things mean to you and how do they affect your life?

[Sysop3]

Right shoe and then left

What about not stepping on a sidewalk crack? Ritual or habit?

[markindurham]

Sept 19, 2014 18:51:49 GMT -5 Sysop3 said:

Right shoe and then left

What about not stepping on a sidewalk crack? Ritual or habit?

That's superstition; ditto not walking under a ladder, ships sailing on Friday 13th etc etc

[mouse]

whit rabbit white rabbit being the luck bringer if they are the first words spoken on the first day of every month
Drakes drum is heard when England is in danger
the ravens will fly away from the tower when England falls

[Sysop3]

That makes sense Mark.


I've never heard of any of yours Mouse.

[annaj26]

Yeah, started with superstition but not really now. Just a habit.

Tradition is a good thing, especially for families. It brings people closer together. Ritual is a habit that is becoming an obsession. Or, it's related to a ceremony.

[mouse]

Sept 21, 2014 13:46:32 GMT -5 Sysop3 said:

That makes sense Mark.


I've never heard of any of yours Mouse.

well they are true..and Drakes Drum was supposedly heard at least twice during the last war
and the ravens at the Tower ALL have their wing feathers doctored so they cannot fly away[such is the power of myth][the Tower mentioned is the Tower of London]
and I know so many people who do the White Rabbit on the first day of each month

then theres butter on cats paws to stop it getting lost
the putting of a shiney coin in a new purse before giving said purse as a present
not putting shoes even when cleaning them on a table as it brings bad luck

[Sysop3]

I believe you that they are old superstitions, but they are new to me.

Step on a crack, break your mother's back is still heard now and then.,

[beth]

The bakeries are full of pumpkin delicacies this week.

I picked up a loaf of pumpkin bread at a bake sale today.

[beth]

The pointbeing, We live less than an hours drive from Amish settlements in Indiana. Some of them wre holding a bake sale near our farmers' market today. Almost everything was made with pumpkins or apples with a harvest theme.

Tradition.

Now, I wish I'd gotten an apple pie as well.

[mouse]

walk on a nic
marry a brick and beetles will come to your wedding

nic beinga crack being the joing between paving stones

[annaj26]

We're buying our pumpkins this week and also a kit with stencils for painting faces on them. I really like carving them out and putting in candles but we decided it's too dangerous about fire with all the dry leaves falling between now and Halloween.

Has anybody ever cut the meat out of pumpkins and made pie with it? My mom used to do that instead of buying the pie filling, canned. She put in her own spices and it made the best pumpkin pies I've ever tasted. It's a lot of work though.

.