Apricot Pits and Currencies

Seasons can mean different things. I barely take notice of the mildly changing weather. It’s the pre-holiday atmosphere that fills the stores and the special foods that crowd our table that I look forward to. Shavuot is marked by cherry-topped cheesecake, cheese-filled blintzes, assorted chocolates—and of course, Eli’s favorite: date nut squares.

In Israel, children have their own ways of tracking the months of the year. There’s a season for jump rope, and a season for flipping stickers. A season for collecting napkins, and a season for ball games. There’s even a season for apricot pits and brightly colored sour sugar.

These pits become a valuable currency, used in gambling games of odd and even—a guessing game: what’s in my hand? Is it an odd or even number? If you guess right, it’s yours to keep. The season begins right after Pesach and ends abruptly when fresh apricots appear in the fruit section of the grocery store. That’s when the pits lose their value and their market crashes.

During this short, intense season, little tables pop up in neighborhoods, manned by adorable little boys with sidelocks, selling their prizes and cups of *tasisan in exchange for apricot pits. Everything is priced, and smaller boys and girls flock to see what’s on offer. And, as quickly as these tiny peddlers appear, they vanish.

I’ve started saving my apricot pits—for eager grandchildren’s hands to grab, to be put safely aside until next year’s expo, grateful for the sweet seasons that surround me.

*sugar, citric acid, and food coloring.