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Remember, remember…stay Safe Out There!

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Remember, remember
The fifth of November
Gunpowder, Treason and Plot
I see no reason
Why Gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot

Here in the UK it’s Guy Fawkes Night, more commonly referred to as Bonfire Night. 

Traditionally, children have grown up singing versions of the rhyme you read above, eating toffee apples, treacle toffee sweets, Parkin and baked potatoes. These goodies were usually consumed whilst standing around a bonfire and watching grown ups light fireworks, sending colourful explosions into the night sky…usually in the rain. Oh the fun we had!

When I was a little girl, I loved the whole experience of Bonfire Night, except having to wait and wait and wait for my Dad to get home from work to light the fireworks. It was exciting going out in the dark, holding sparklers and writing my name and watching all the beautiful fireworks that seemed to light up the whole sky.

Many children would make a “guy”, an effigy of Guy Fawkes to throw on top of the bonfire before it was lit. They would drag it round the neighbourhood asking for “a penny for the guy”, and any money collected would be used to buy sweets and fireworks for the big night. (You must remember that this was way before health and safety deemed it wrong to sell fireworks to under 18’s.)

Children with their “guy”.

Guy Fawkes Night

The origin of Guy Fawkes Night goes way back to 1605 and a plan to return the religion of England to the Roman Catholic Church.

The men behind the Gunpowder Plot were Catholics who wanted to blow up the Palace of Westminster during the opening of Parliament. The aim was to kill everyone inside including King James 1 and his heir Prince Henry.

On the night of 5th November 1605, 36 barrels of gunpowder were discovered hidden in a storeroom beneath the Palace of Westminster.

Near the barrels was a man calling himself John Johnson. He was found to have fuses in his pockets and was quickly arrested.

After days of intense torture the man confessed his part in the conspiracy and declared his real name to be Guido (Guy) Fawkes.

The rest of the Plotters were rounded up and arrested and eventually put to death. I’ll spare you the details.

In January 1606 Parliament passed ‘An Act for a Public Thanksgiving to Almighty God every Year on the Fifth Day of November’. 

As the years have passed, celebrations with bonfires and fireworks have been adopted into common culture and effigies of the pope have changed to effigies of Guy Fawkes. 

The men behind the Gunpowder Plot.

Stay safe

Bonfire Night – writing with a sparkler!

If you do choose to celebrate with fireworks and bonfires this year, please stay safe. Keep hoods up, gloves on and trousers over wellies! Follow the firework code and please, please, please check for any wildlife that may have inadvertently taken up residence inside your unlit bonfire.

Enjoy yourselves and have fun!

Until next time…

What is Halloween really about?

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Monsters, zombies, vampires and ghosts? I like Halloween but I’m not a huge fan of anything really scary. I like cute, whimsical and fun.

That could be viewed as a contradiction in terms. Especially as many people consider Halloween to be all about ghouls, blood and frightening beasts.

With this in mind, I wanted to look behind the commercialisation and candy eating, to the real story…

Why do we celebrate Halloween?

The origins of Halloween can be traced back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (SAH-wane).

The ritual of Samhain marked the end of Summer and the start of the long, dark Winter to come. It was a symbol of the boundary between the living and the dead. Times were tough. If you didn’t grow enough crops in the summer to sustain you and your family there were no handouts. You would starve. Being grateful and thankful for being alive was at the heart of everything.

Celtic priests (Druids), would take embers from the sacred village bonfire to light the hearth fire in each house. They believed this would help protect the people and keep them warm throughout the Winter months. Helping them to survive and experience another year.

These cyclical offerings helped to maintain the community and strengthen village bonds. Helping to keep up morale during the most difficult times.

Making changes

In the Christian calendar, “All Hallows’ Day”, was a day to remember those who had died for their beliefs.

As the Christian church became more powerful, it wanted to turn the people away from their Pagan beliefs. One way was the attempt to assimilate the pagan festival of Samhain into something more acceptable to the Christian church.

During the 8th Century, Pope Gregory had the date of the All Hallows’ feast moved. It was originally celebrated on May 13th but it was moved to November 1st.

Eventually, the evening of Samhain became known as All-hallows-even, then Hallows Eve before being changed to Hallowe’en and now Halloween. 

Our modern celebration

It’s easy to see how the old traditions have evolved in to the celebration that we recognise today.

Celebrating the seasons and remembering the Saints and martyrs, became more about spirits and devils.

Zombies, vampires and other creatures have taken centre stage. Candy consumption and commercialisation has become the norm. This week I even spotted Halloween crackers!

I’m not against children having fun. I do actually like the decorations and the dressing up. But within reason.

I don’t agree with gangs of teenagers dressing up and knocking on peoples doors late into the evening. It can be very distressing for the elderly or those who live alone.

Many people believe that Halloween is all about satanic worship and demons. Looking at the hype we are surrounded by it is easy to understand why they think that.

We should focus on the true meaning of Halloween. Reclaim one of our long forgotten traditions and bring people together in these worrying times.

And for those who do celebrate…Happy Halloween!