All Hallow’s Eve

I always remember my grandma referring to the the 31st of October as ‘All Soul’s Day’ and the following day being ‘All Saint’s Day’. She was Roman Catholic and observed the religious taboos around what are considered Pagan traditions. So no help with carving the Jack O’Lanterns from grandma!

Today the pumpkin is the preferred choice when it comes to carving ghoulish images, but back in the 1960s it was the hard labour of hollowing out a turnip if you were to achieve your spooky lantern. Perhaps grandma knew this and used her religious views as a way out of some heavy duty gouging! I must say the smell of a candle burning inside a turnip did have a much more pleasant aroma about it.

Halloween itself is very much a Pagan festival with it’s origins in Samhain, a Celtic Festival where bonfires were lit and strange costumes worn to ward off evil spirits. Christianity incorporated certain celebrations as it sought to gain followers in pagan lands. Pope Gregory the Third set aside November 1st as All Saint’s Day, A day to celebrate and honour Christianity’s Saints. Over time All Saints Day took on some of the traditions of Samhain and the evening before became known as All Hallows Eve, eventually becoming Halloween.

Today there are a plethora of costumes and decorations to help decorate your house and garden in to ward off those evil spirits, and from the States the commercialised version of Trick Or Treat as crept into our celebrations. Although it doesn’t have the same powerful force it had in those long off days it’s good to see that we still mark the onset of those dark winter nights.

Each year I add to my decorations by buying just one new item. I have a few plastic decorations that I couldn’t throw out from when my daughter was younger, but I tend to go for things which have a bit more tradition and quality in them when augmenting my Halloween collection. This year I discovered this wonderful almost folk-arty plaque available from GalaxyXtra. The plaque is beautifully made from wood and embellished with a 3D broomstick and characteristic pumkin, and comes complete with it’s ready to hang wire

It got noticed quite a bit last Halloween and I was more than pleased to point them in the direction by visiting https://www.galaxyxtra.com/happy-haunting-halloween-plaque.html

← Previous Next →