Halloween - Myths

Before I get on to the subject of Halloween, let me just update you on the progress of certain individuals from the last blog. Michael is over the ultra marathon and has began training for the next one. I know, a bit soon and I have warned him, he might peak too soon, it is a year away.

Matilda is preparing for the birthday of the year, guest and family are coming from all over the world to celebrate this grand party. Little Matilda is turning ONE this year and it is going to be a big bash.

Lauren has been invited to an exclusive jewellery exhibition by Lady Sophie of Nottingham. Lady Sophie was so enthralled with the beauty of Lauren jewellery, she wants exclusivity and will benefit from the accolades Lauren is so use to. Good luck, aim for the stars. (Names and places have been changed for security reasons.)

I am very pleased to announce that Russell is back home and none the worse for his travels. Travels he did aplenty, Dublin, Zanzibar, Kenya and Dodoma. He is now looking forward to a time of reflection and preparation for Christmas. Maybe a little music by Glen Yarbrough - ‘Baby the rain-must fall’, comes to mind. Always a favourite at Christmas, or anytime really as this is AFRICA, rain does not fall that often. He has promised to let us know when he travels to Dublin again, we will definitely be there to welcome him, red carpet and champagne. Great photo captured by none other than the great man himself, in the comments section of my last blog, Jewellery and Running by Experts.

Where does Halloween come from? Good question. According to Alexa;

Carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating, and wearing scary costumes are some of the time-honoured traditions of Halloween. Yet, the Halloween holiday has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced “SAH-win”), a pagan religious celebration to welcome the harvest at the end of summer, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honour saints. Soon after, All Saints Day came to incorporate some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before All Saints Day was known as All Hallows Eve, and later, Halloween.

What is the story behind the candles? Well from what I have read of the early history of Halloween, big bonfires were used to light the way for souls seeking the afterlife, ghosts looking for a way out more likely. These days, lighting candles is the more civilised way of dealing with those scary souls seeking the afterlife.

Why do certain people wear Scary Costumes? Another good question I asked myself. It is down to those Celts again, they dressed up to avoid being terrorised by all the evil spirits wandering around with the sole purpose of frightening the Celts during Halloween. Sort of a disguise, so that they would not be mistaken for spirits themselves. Timid Folks, those Celts.

Trick-or-Treating

There is much debate around the origins of trick-or-treating, but I believe it is down to those Celts again. Celtic people would leave food out to appease the spirits traveling the Earth at night. Over time, people began to dress as these unearthly beings in exchange for similar offerings of food and drink.

Pinch and a punch

‘A pinch and a punch it is the first of the month” is a ritual practiced on the first day of each month by those who have some ancient witch DNA still lurking around in their system. Actually there is more to the saying than a pinch and a punch. In 1909, "Noted and Queries” was published, a collection of British folklore. The pinch was a pinch of salt believed to weaken witches who came at the 1st of the month and the punch was to try and get rid of the witch for good.

I have the single joy of been pinched and punched, while driving to the beach’ every 1st day of the month.

Some also say “white rabbits” afterwards but must be the first words spoken that month. The other popular addition is “a pinch and a punch it is the first of the month, no returns”. Basically meaning you cannot punch back.

The Americans have their own theory, but they are Americans. According to them, president George Washington met local Indian tribes on the first day of each month and at the meeting he would supply fruit punch with an added pinch of salt. This tradition became known as 'pinch and punch on the first of the month'.

Talking of witches, I see that only after 1 year at Exeter University, Mika has already made them add a degree in magic. This will be offered in 2024 and will be one of the first in the UK.

Exeter have said; The "innovative" MA in Magic and Occult Science has been created following a "recent surge in interest in magic”. It would offer an opportunity to study the history and impact of witchcraft and magic around the world on society and science. Not sure how this fits into Mika’s course in black and white photography but they maintain, academics with expertise in history, literature, philosophy, archaeology, sociology, psychology, drama, and religion will show the role of magic on the West and the East. I suppose black and white photography would fit into archaeology.

“Come as you are”

This is something you say when you’re having an informal get-together, and the meaning was the same in a famous poem. The complete line is, “Come as you are, tarry not over your toilet.”, and it’s the beginning of the sixth poem by Rabindranath Tagore in POETRY: A Magazine of Verse, published in 1913. It might get a giggle today, but toilet in the historical sense can mean cosmetics, and ‘to tarry’ means to delay or stay. It carries the lovely sentiment of simply show up imperfectly and be quick about it; the person’s presence in the world is more important than any dress code.

I have been to my fair share of parties and looking at what some people wear, I think they have taken it as read for all affairs. Jeans, shirt not tucked in and a belly, battling to escape the torture of slim fit style, on older, larger individual who should know better.

Gary birthday

Well, we had an amazing burger night, Saturday was spent at Blackwater Stream, a Weatherspoons pub and Sunday we took a tree of cheese, biscuits and wine to the birthday boy. On his birthday, I was birthday out but I did get him a bottle of whisky, I will check how much whisky I have left and maybe give it to him. The thought was there. 45 and he had now down to 4 in the house, Gary has moved the other three children on. Left with Claudia, Daniel and Alex, he is a great kid.