Autumn vs Halloween
Since when did Halloween become a season?
Browsing social media over the last few weeks, you could be forgiven that the season was Halloween rather than autumn. Apart from a bit of autumnal excitement early on, so much social media content from mid-September onwards is based on Halloween. ‘Spooky season’ is a common theme that seems to have been running for weeks and I guess will continue to do so until 1st November at which point we will suddenly, seamlessly morph into festive stuff.
At the risk of sounding slightly pedantic, ‘spooky season’ is actually one day. The evening of 31 October was originally the festival of Samhain - an ancient Celtic festival where people would light fires and dress up in costumes to ward away ghosts and evil spirits. It marked a time between the end of summer and harvest and the start of a long dark winter. It marks the halfway point between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. A time when the boundaries between this world and the next become blurred.
It then became adopted by Christianity as All Saints Eve - a time to honour all saints, and then at some point it became a ‘thing’ and shops from September onwards started to produce a variety of plastic merchandise with which to decorate our houses.
Growing up in the UK in the 1970s Halloween wasn’t even a thing. Nothing. Never mentioned. No trick or treating, no sweeties or decorations. Just a vague mention of witches - I grew up in the shadow of Pendle Hill - and All Hallows Eve. Some people, I recall took part in a torchlit walk up Pendle Hill on Halloween and probably still do. My Dad dismissed that as ‘daft’ and so we didn’t partake - although I have to admit that the idea did and still does really appeal to me.
All of our childish excitement was reserved for Bonfire Night. That was the night that had everything - huge fires, cinder toffee that could take a wobbly tooth out in seconds and fireworks. The excitement started weeks in advance as a giant bonfire started to be built on the playing fields at the side of the playing fields. Our Dads dragged every scrap of waste wood from the house and back gardens, anything to save a visit to the tip. And for weeks we watched it build.
The evening itself was always a great event, even if it was often damp and wet (This was Lancashire in November after all). The air was thick was bonfire smoke and the imminent threat of stray fireworks. There was a slightly more casual attitude to health and safety back then. Rockets were propped up in glass milk bottles along brick walls and catherine wheels were nailed to fence posts. Men lit the blue touch paper and our mums made us all stand well back.
Overall, I’m happy we don’t do that bit any more. I prefer my fireworks in an organised display these days, without the imminent threat of serious injury. But I do miss standing around a big bonfire.
Do you have any favourite memories of bonfire night? Why not tap the button below and let’s reminisce.
I think you are mistaken about it being the whole UK. Hallowe’en is and was very much a Scottish tradition. This was the case in my own childhood and later in my daughter’s. We went guising dressed as anything we liked, not just witches and spooky things, and creative costumes were encouraged. It wasn’t trick or treat though. You knocked at neighbours’ doors and told a joke, said a poem or sang. You then got a wee treat, or if you were very lucky got invited in to play apple bobbing or something like that. We carried hollowed out turnips (swedes to you) with a candle inside. By my daughter’s era it was pumpkins 🎃 It was one night and that’s part of what made it special.
We didn’t do Bonfire Night. My father said someone failing to blow up the English parliament was not something to celebrate! Joking of course 🙃
My birthday is 22nd November and I feel quite lucky I get something in the month to look forward to before Christmas! It’s always been our benchmark of time for when we’re allowed to get christmassy in my household and while sometimes I get too excited and start listening to Christmas songs sooner, this year I find myself wanting to hold onto autumnal magic before advent begins. As for bonfire night my primary school used to hold one every year. We used to do a Guy competition where they’d be lined up in the hall and judged before being taken to the bonfire. Seems like such a weird tradition now!