Halloween - some things you may not know, - Floristry Guide Free Online Floristry Course

So whats all this Halloween malarky then? Most people assume it to be an American import but they could not be more wrong. Halloween is far far older than the New World to claim its heritage there. America can claim the pumpkin symbol as a replacement for our traditional swede and turnip which were hollowed out and used to hold burning animal fat rags to illuminate the dark. All Hallows' Eve is the twilight of the floral year. The opening of the Celtic year was celebrated during All Hallows' Eve and it was called Samhain. A forgotten festival. Ceremonial bonfires were lit at this time, now incorporated a few days later to fit in with Guy Fawkes night.

Remember the part of the prayer 'Hallowed be thy name?' the word Hallowed meant respected and revered. At Samhain/All Hallows' Eve it was thought that at midnight the veil betwen the living domain and the world inhabited by our ancestors was at its thinnest and therefore spirits of the departed could be contacted better on this evening than at any other. Why would they want to do that? Well apart from the fact that thousands of people do exactly that regularly in church on a Sunday morning is beside the point. Dont forget that in those days people were not perhaps around long enough to be able to pass on their wisdom and experience to more than one maybe two generations so with the lack of 'agony aunts' in magazines, much older relatives to ask advice from and social workers, people would try and ask questions of the dead. Ask for guidance. Ask for comfort. Pay their respects too. They would light fires and gather in the forest. Nothing sinister about that, in those days 3/4 of Britain was forest. They would hollow out turnips and swede and light their way to the bonfire gathering where they would hope the spirits would come and answer their questions about what must have been a much more puzzling world than we know now.

Christians thinking this was stupid at best and evil at worst would silently follow to see what they were doing. Were they summoning demons as the church authorities said? We'll give em demons they thought, so they would make horrific masks and cloak themselves in black so they could dash in and out of the shadows frightening the pagans. So once again, a fairly understandable innocent tradition was warped and twisted to turn followers away from it.

Apples then, where do they fit in? There were a few customs involving apples which would take place at the Halloween party. Apples were bobbed for in wooden tubs or suspended from twine hung between branches, for blind folded party goers to try and bite. These rituals were remnants of the celebrations in Autumn of the ancient Roman Pagans associated with Pomona, Roman goddess of fruit trees who was one of the divinities of Autumn. The British Isles and elsewhere in the northern hemisphere had many traditions, some very localised others the same all over. The witch was German pagan origin, the wise oldest woman of a village who was the best at boiling medicinal herbs, yes, probably in a cauldron, it was a common cooking utensil.

Young unmarried girls would have fun with the tradition of looking for the face of their future husband to be reflecting back at them from a bowl of still water if she gazed in it at midnight holding a lantern in one hand and an apple in the other.

Anyway, instead of rubbishing Halloween and ignoring the little ghosts knocking on the door for sweets, take a moment to raise a glass to your ancestors at midnight, its a time to respect them and thank them for the fact that you're here.