maple sugaring

Sugar maple trees tapped for sap during late winter thaw

The Turning of the Sugar Maples

by Elizabeth Fabowale

January 21, 2026

American Seasonal Traditions·American Traditions & Beliefs

Late winter announced itself not with warmth, but with a pause. Snow still covered the ground in thick, uneven sheets. Streams ran beneath ice rather than over it. Breath hung visibly in the air. Yet for families living across New England and the Great Lakes, this moment carried meaning deeper than cold. It was the season known as the turning

Late winter forest with maple sap collection and boiling kettles during traditional sugaring season

American Seasonal Traditions·American Traditions & Beliefs

Maple Sugaring Season in the Northeast

Maple sugaring has long marked the transition from winter to spring in the northeastern United States. For centuries, Indigenous communities such as the Algonquian peoples have harvested sap from sugar maple trees, recognizing the subtle signals of seasonal change. Early European settlers adopted the practice, learning the techniques of tapping

Parchment-style illustration of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox in snowy woods, American folktale.

Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Strength, Teamwork, and the Power of Legend

Long ago, in the rugged northern forests of America, where towering pines whispered to the wind and the snow stretched farther than

Parchment-style artwork of Davy Crockett firing into the sunrise on a frosty Tennessee hill, American folktale scene.

Davy Crockett and the Frozen Dawn: An American Folktale that Teaches Lessons on Boasting and Humor

In the early days of the American frontier, when the land stretched wild and untamed across Tennessee, there lived a man whose

A realistic painting of an American alligator resting on a muddy riverbank at dawn, surrounded by misty wetlands and tall grasses under soft golden light.

The American Alligator Legend

In the vast marshes and slow-moving rivers of the southern United States, where the air hangs heavy with mist and the reeds

Go toTop