Well only a few more hours to go and soon it will be Halloween again. Time to get the pumpkins organised and carved into jack-o-lanterns! But more importantly time to get your Halloween costumes ready to go trick or treating or to that special Halloween party. Halloween is originally derived from the Celtic festival of Samhain, a time that marks the end of the Summer and the beginning of the Winter. It’s quite appropriate really as here in England, we have just put the clocks back one hour to mark the end of British Summertime. Nowadays we associate Halloween with people dressing up in Halloween costumes and going trick or treating.
Sadly according to the results of a recent survey, some children will not be going trick or treating this year, particularly those in inner city areas as their parents think it is too dangerous for them to be out in the dark due to the increasing incidences of knife crime and violence. It’s a sad state of affairs unfortunately in modern day Britain.
When I was growing up, we never celebrated Halloween over here in England, even though it has always been a popular holiday in the States. It’s only in recent years that Halloween has become more popular in this country. Halloween has now become a million pound industry in Britain and we are fast catching up with our American neighbours. Halloween is now the most profitable time for British retailers after Christmas and Easter, with a staggering £25million being spent on pumpkins alone. Whole supermarket aisles are now dedicated to Halloween novelties as people shop for Halloween themed food and drink and decorations for their houses. Some people even want Halloween themed outfits for their pets!
One of my personal favourite ways to spend Halloween is to go on a ghost walk where a guide takes a group of people on a walk around supposedly haunted parts of a town or city and tells spooky tales about it. It’s fun and great exercise too! One of my favourite Halloweens was spent at a place called Pendle Hill, home of the Lancashire witch trials. Very spooky! This year, I’ll be going to a Halloween party and have my witch costume all ready!
Happy Halloween Everybody!
3 comments:
Happy Halloween Naomi
Hope your Halloween was fun, Naomi. We had warm weather here in the Midwest and there were lots of kids out. This was baby Nic's first time to trick or treat, which more visiting the neighbors than getting candy.
Happy Halloween Rick! Hope you had fun!
Yes I did have fun Sheila. I went to a party at a friend's house. I'm sure baby Nic enjoyed his first Halloween. Look forward to seeing some more photos of him on your blog. He's a lovely little boy.
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