First stop the hallowed ground of the garden centre. Halloween, takes many forms within the Christian church but its Christian feast is All Souls, the day to remember the dead, followed by a day for hallowed saints – All Saints.
Secular Halloween, is a bit difficult to explain – in some countries it’s a time of visiting the departed but I get the impression here England it’s a time to embrace our fear of the unknown in a jolly way.
As with any good feast day – it needs secularisation to bring the people in and make it less bad spirits and scary, and more bright and breezy. So colourful cartoon characters and the chance of an assortment of sweets are what attracts people.
The British way of celebrating Halloween is different from the Hollywood style of ‘glamour’ and razzmatazz of the USA – lavish parties and film hero costumes. While in Britain we tend to go for “From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord deliver us!” a protection prayer – debated whether from Scotland or Cornwall, and probably handed down by word of mouth rather than a prayer book. Yet in the nice bright garden centre – everything was pretty upbeat.
Next stop Samhain at the Chalice Well, Glastonbury.
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