Disjointed thoughts on the season
Oct. 29th, 2009 05:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyofastolat(But before I start any seasonal thoughts, what's with this weather? I had my lunch in a car park on the seafront today, and everyone was strolling around in shorts and t-shirts in blazing sunshine.)
Halloween: I haven't decided yet whether to, a, go out, b, pretend to be out, c, open the door to all and sundry in a boring, adult way, or, d, dress up in some of our worryingly-large quantities of appropriate costume and answer the door in style. I don't mind small children proudly wearing costume, accompanied by an adult; it's the scowling 14 year olds I feel somewhat threatened by, who clearly want money, and haven't really bothered to dress up. It's the same lot who go "carol-singing", when they mumble a single line of "We wish you a merry Christmas" and expect money.
Halloween is the time of year for people to launch diatribes about how Halloween was totally unknown in Britain before the last few decades, and was introduced in its entirety from America, by way of TV and films. There is a lot of truth in this - according to my various books on calendar customs, anyway - but it is not completely true. My Dad in the 40s and his mother in the 10s both played pranks on innocent householders on Halloween, and begged for sweets. It wasn't called "Trick or treat", but it was trick or treat in all but name. Carving scary faces in root vegetables is an old Somerset tradition ("punkie night"), and comes with threats issued to those people who don't give you a reward. My maternal grandmother in Cheshire also went from door to door at Halloween-time, begging for soul cakes.
Bonfire Night: I don't think I've heard any fireworks yet, which is unusual, since there in recent years fireworks seem to last for a good month on either side of Bonfire Night. Perhaps having Bonfire Night on a Friday will focus the fireworks - both the amateur ones and the public displays - onto the day itself. All we ever had in our own back garden was sparklers, though I was always rather afraid of them. I have vague but scary memories of seeing some safety information film about a girl picking up a recently-burnt-out sparkler and screaming in agony. Safety films always terrorised me. I can also clearly remember an image from a magazine cover about unsafe playgrounds, that showed a child crushed under a roundabout. I never really trusted roundabouts after that.
But back to fireworks... We did have indoor fireworks, which I remember with nostalgia, but which were probably rather dull, really. I remember Snake in the Grass, which produced a growing grey snake-like thing out of a pile of green sludge. Apart from that, though, it was local municipal fireworks displays, with bonfire toffee (i.e. black treacle toffee) eaten before we went. The smell of wood smoke on a dark evening always makes me think of those displays, and also the school hymn we used to sing in the autumn, which I can still pretty much sing in its entirety. I particularly liked the "Hunter's moon shines gold" line, since I didn't know what a hunter's moon was, but it sounded mysterious and interesting.
People also like to complain about how traditional Bonfire Night is getting taken over by new-fangled Halloween, and how children now go trick and treating but don't make guys. To be honest, I don't really mourn guys. I know it's Tradition and I'm being a boring spoilsport, but I've never been that happy with the idea of burning someone in effigy in honour of old anti-Catholic feeling. Also, it's possible that Bonfire Night only caught on so much in the first place since it was so close to the existing traditions of bonfires round about Halloween, so it might be strangely appropriate if it fades away again, and the bonfires and fireworks go back to Halloween.
Halloween: I haven't decided yet whether to, a, go out, b, pretend to be out, c, open the door to all and sundry in a boring, adult way, or, d, dress up in some of our worryingly-large quantities of appropriate costume and answer the door in style. I don't mind small children proudly wearing costume, accompanied by an adult; it's the scowling 14 year olds I feel somewhat threatened by, who clearly want money, and haven't really bothered to dress up. It's the same lot who go "carol-singing", when they mumble a single line of "We wish you a merry Christmas" and expect money.
Halloween is the time of year for people to launch diatribes about how Halloween was totally unknown in Britain before the last few decades, and was introduced in its entirety from America, by way of TV and films. There is a lot of truth in this - according to my various books on calendar customs, anyway - but it is not completely true. My Dad in the 40s and his mother in the 10s both played pranks on innocent householders on Halloween, and begged for sweets. It wasn't called "Trick or treat", but it was trick or treat in all but name. Carving scary faces in root vegetables is an old Somerset tradition ("punkie night"), and comes with threats issued to those people who don't give you a reward. My maternal grandmother in Cheshire also went from door to door at Halloween-time, begging for soul cakes.
Bonfire Night: I don't think I've heard any fireworks yet, which is unusual, since there in recent years fireworks seem to last for a good month on either side of Bonfire Night. Perhaps having Bonfire Night on a Friday will focus the fireworks - both the amateur ones and the public displays - onto the day itself. All we ever had in our own back garden was sparklers, though I was always rather afraid of them. I have vague but scary memories of seeing some safety information film about a girl picking up a recently-burnt-out sparkler and screaming in agony. Safety films always terrorised me. I can also clearly remember an image from a magazine cover about unsafe playgrounds, that showed a child crushed under a roundabout. I never really trusted roundabouts after that.
But back to fireworks... We did have indoor fireworks, which I remember with nostalgia, but which were probably rather dull, really. I remember Snake in the Grass, which produced a growing grey snake-like thing out of a pile of green sludge. Apart from that, though, it was local municipal fireworks displays, with bonfire toffee (i.e. black treacle toffee) eaten before we went. The smell of wood smoke on a dark evening always makes me think of those displays, and also the school hymn we used to sing in the autumn, which I can still pretty much sing in its entirety. I particularly liked the "Hunter's moon shines gold" line, since I didn't know what a hunter's moon was, but it sounded mysterious and interesting.
People also like to complain about how traditional Bonfire Night is getting taken over by new-fangled Halloween, and how children now go trick and treating but don't make guys. To be honest, I don't really mourn guys. I know it's Tradition and I'm being a boring spoilsport, but I've never been that happy with the idea of burning someone in effigy in honour of old anti-Catholic feeling. Also, it's possible that Bonfire Night only caught on so much in the first place since it was so close to the existing traditions of bonfires round about Halloween, so it might be strangely appropriate if it fades away again, and the bonfires and fireworks go back to Halloween.
