I remember as a child Halloween being a day when we bobbed for apples and wore a sheet pretending to be a ghost and ate the occasional toffee apple. Whatever happened?
Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve developed from a Gaelic pagan festival of Samhain, a pivotal time of year when the seasons change. There were ritualistic ceremonies which over time have diminished and largely forgotten, swapping instead for loud brash American celebrations, which over time have developed over this side of the Atlantic.
I took my sons to France in October 1999 and we were amazed at how commercialized the small towns were. We went to Disneyland Paris and the parade was all Halloween based, the music played still sticks in my head 19 years on. Maybe that is where I developed my lack of enthusiasm for the celebrations?
Move on to this year and I have become aware of the hype and excitement of pumpkins: children are going pumpkin picking to choose their pumpkins for Halloween, supermarkets stocking up on anything with pumpkins on. Instead of just one day, this now seems to have developed into at least a week-long excitement, (strangely enough linking into half term?) children have to have bought costumes and seek out their own pumpkins – who knew that there were lots of local pumpkin farm nearby? Sure they weren’t there last year?
Times have moved on as it does, takes me back to the days we had turnip lanterns, anybody remembers the lethal cutting of the turnips, never mind the stench it exuded a couple of days later – Eau de rotting turnips……….
My friend Caroline and I met at Tatton Park in Cheshire earlier this week and the gardens were overrun with pumpkins. I mist say though that the variety of pumpkins were amazing.
There is 4 more sleep till Halloween, don’t get me started on trick or treating…..
Happy Halloween everyone!!
Rambling With Ruthie 