On our farm we watch the seasons. Each change in weather or bloom heralds both a beginning and the end of things. Every August we wait for the pears to fall. With falling pears come pies, sauces, snacks and ciders. Pears also bring separations, not just the fruit from the tree but also children from home, for some of us. When we see those fruits fall, we know our children’s carefree hiatus from life draws to a close and they will be heading to their various destinations. We know that those warm, quiet, sun-kissed days of summer are nearing to a close and it is time to preserve.
Some people think that the pear fruit has symbolism and meaning. Thepresenttree.com claims that pears symbolize ‘prosperity, good health, and happiness’. Treespiritwisdom.com argues that they are symbolic of ‘a time of loss and/or difficulty and separation’. I think that they are both right.
The pear as we know it has an Anglo Saxon name “pere” but the Greeks called it “acras.” Pears have been found all over the ancient world (including Pompeii). Pears were first mentioned in literature in The Odyssey in 9th century as a “gift from the gods”. Egyptians considered pears sacred to Isis. Pears have been painted by Van Gogh and Bellini and
referenced by DaVinci. Very impressive…for such a delicate fruit.
Pears can be picked unripe but will continue to ripen off of the tree. The European variety (as opposed to the Asian) was brought to the Americas with the colonials in 1621 and propagated by seed. Like apples, a pear will not grow true to the parent from seed – meaning it was an adventure to discover what sort of pear one might grow/use. (I imagine that there was a Johnny Appleseed and not a Johnny Pearseed because pears do not keep as well as apples.) Whatever variety is grown, a pear contains within it vitamin C, fiber, a low glycemic index and they are good for your heart.
I love the idea that on this farm where we watch the pears drop, likely so did the first inhabitants of this house. I wish we could know what they were thinking. I’m sure that they watched falling pears and perhaps they thought about what those falls might bring. But more probable, as practical Americans they probably thought about what comes next…pumpkins of all sorts, hops, apples, juniper berries, brussels sprouts, potatoes, cabbages, and grains; not the end of a season but the start of a new one.
Maybe pears herald both the end of a moment and the start of a fresh one – new experiences, new productions, new tastes, new connections, new lessons.
“Looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them.” – L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Ann Leighton, Early American Gardens; “For Meate or Medicine,” Amhurst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1970
Jules Janick, “The Pear in History, Literature, Popular Culture, and Art,” Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University
https://www.thepresenttree.com
https://www.treespiritwisdom.com
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