What Americans do, and why
The Fourth of July picnic, the Friday fish fry, the block party, Election Day at the town hall — where each of these days came from, how a town keeps it, and why it is still worth keeping.
The Racket at Midnight
The television countdown, the kitchen snacks, and the pots and pans that greet the new year from the porch.
The Cardboard Advent Calendar
The cardboard Advent calendar counts December down one perforated door at a time, and the month writes itself into the board.
The Leftover Economy of the Day After Thanksgiving
The morning after Thanksgiving, the feast turns into a quiet market of containers, claims, and the one sandwich no one can improve.
The Week the Town Steps Into the Woods
On the November morning that opens deer season, the classroom lights stay on but the desks are half-empty.
The Thanksgiving Turkey from Thaw to Table
From the frozen bird in the basement to the carved platter, the November turkey is a three-day job with a rhythm all its own.
The Fourth Thursday
The 1939 fight over shopping days gave the country a fixed date, and a reminder of what the month of the table is for.
November Election Day at the Town Hall
From the first frost-lit hour to the last ballot, a November Election Day inside a rural town hall.
Thanksgiving, not Christmas, is the American holiday
The table replaces the tree in November, and the country sits down to a holiday that asks for nothing but a meal.
How Halloween Left the Farm for the Suburbs
From bare hedgerows and turnip lanterns to porch lights and packaged candy, October's old fire festival remade itself for the American middle.
The Porch Light Is On
On Halloween night the porch becomes a stage, a lit pumpkin at its center, and children enforce a code older than the candy.
Carving the Halloween Pumpkin
The October rite runs from the pumpkin bin to the porch step, in the order it is done.