HALLOWE'EN

HALLOWE'EN
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EAST ANGLIA
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The Festival

Hallowe'en is short for All Hallows Eve, the night before the Christian church honours it's dead saints. Like many Christian festivals, it has been overlaid upon an old Celtic Pagan festival which it tried to replace, called Samhain on October 31st. Samhain, pronounced Sow-wain (the name modern Pagans prefer) is actualy the old New Years Eve of the Celtic year, when along with many other cultures they looked back to the past year and wondered what the new one would bring. In that odd period between one year ending and a new one starting, it was said that the veil between this world and the next was at it's thinnest allowing easier divination, and communication with spirits. It was also natural to remember one's ancestors, especially those who had died in the previous year. (Of course the UK remembers it's war dead a week or so later, which is no more macabre than these other festivals.) It was also the traditional time for telling ghost stories. Nowadays you can go on ghost tours to be told your local chilling tales. Click onto the Dark Sorcerer

to find out more about ghosts if you dare!

Traditionally, this was also a time when cattle were often slaughtered, since there may not be enough grazing to see them all through the winter season. Hence there was the opportunity to eat some extra meat in a feast which would put fat on the bones of those trying to survive winter. Also, because there are few leaves on the trees, the festival came to symbolise the death phase of plants, animals and people. It is the only one of the eight seasonal festivals that Pagans celebrate which do address the certainty of death, so it is unfortunate that the press and others have sought to emphasise the scary aspects, whilst ignoring the brighter more joyous Pagans festivals. If you would like to find out more about Paganism, click onto the symbol of the Pagan Federation to be linked to their site. You could also click onto our presenter Pete Jennings Homepages or even read his book 'Pagan Paths' (Rider, 2002)

The Witchfinder General In the mid 1600's East Anglia was the location of the UKs largest scale witch hunt, by the notorious self styled Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins. With two assistants and a large band of spies and informers he wreaked havoc in Suffolk, Essex, Norfolk & Cambridgeshire, and is probably responsible for about 400 executions and as many other spoilt lives over a 14 month period around 1645. He was a failed shipping clerk from Mistley, who practised some maritime law in Ipswich but never qualified at law and went back home to a much more profitable line of work. He charged councils large sums of money to rid them of witches, and became extremely rich on the rewards until denounced by the Vicar of Huntingdon as a charlatan and fraud, who used tricks and torture to extract confessions from scapegoated people who were often already disliked in their neighbourhoods. It appears he was also used by the Puritans to obtain information and get rid of suspected Royalsts. You can find an alphabetical listing of East Anglian witchcraft trials on Pete Jennings homepages above, and also check out www.hulford.co.uk for a listing of witch trials in Essex.

Trick or Treating

Some people become very annoyed or frightened at youngsters going trick or treating at this time of year. The police advice is not to open the door to anyone you are not sure of. Some Christian advisors say not to let children to go out trick or treating because it will 'lead them into the occult.' Others dismiss it as an excuse for pranks and 'something that came over from America.'

I think it is a shame for children to miss out on the fun, and Hallowe'en gives them a chance to confront the dark without danger. Just as many elderly people may fear who is knocking on their door, many unnacompanied children may be even more scared by who might answer their knock. I think it is a good idea for parents to pre-arrange visits between themselves to avoid the possibility of their children visiting the wrong sort of people. As for 'leading them into the occult', have you considered what that means? Occult refers to a religious mystery or secret, and applies to all religions, not just the more mysterious ones! The comment about it all coming from America is only partly true. Long before Europeans colonised the USA we had our own trickster customs, which were taken over there by settlers. After dying out here, the custom had taken a life of its own over there, and was re-introduced back to the UK in the last few decades. Pete Jennings