There is a perception that some Halloween traditions may come from Celtic and Gaelic traditions, some of which may have pagan origins.

The present day celebrations of Halloween appear to have travelled via the United States, arriving on these shores in the 1980’s and 90’s, prior to that there was little mention of Halloween. The religious aspects were observed of course but Halloween was a very quiet affair otherwise.

However, everyone loves a party, especially children. Offering an opportunity to dress up as ghouls and ghosties is great fun, parents, neighbours and grandparents too delight in being frightened by miniature demons brandishing tridents and face painted to look like the living dead.

Trick or treat came ashore with the Halloween spectacular allowing children to hold ‘friendly’ folks to ransom with dire threats unless paid off with sweeties or apples. There was a time when one could be less concerned about the safety of ‘unknown’ people giving sweets to children, parents may now be more circumspect about doing so. Also, tales of ‘spiked apples’ abound. It is wiser to go with the youngsters when they are prowling the neighbourhood and check out the ‘treats’ before they are eaten. Safety first. A safe trick is one thing but some tricks are not safe or appropriate so please be careful.

There will be a host of fancy dress parties and Halloween activities locally, certainly the shops are full of dangling bats and pumpkins galore. By the way, collect the scrapings from your pumpkin, when cooked and seasoned and made into soup it is great to taste and there is less waste and it is yummy on a cold night. Also, the empty pumpkin skin can be filled with fat and bird seed and hung out for the autumn birds, so that they can enjoy Halloween too

Halloween for adults is an opportunity for having fun, there will be special activities to enjoy, parties, dining out – our many fine local restaurants and pubs will be delighted to see you but do book in advance. Why not throw a BBQ party with a Halloween theme and fancy dress and have a collecting tin for a local charity?. 

Halloween is a fun time in 21st Century Britain, and why not? People who work hard are perfectly entitled to relax and have fun. Guess what? The end of the next week is Bon Fire Night, and that means more parties and more fun. What a sparkling time of year.