Last night two of my neighbours Tracey and Karine had the brilliant idea of combining Halloween with Bonfire Night.
I am not really a fan of Halloween, but having been brought-up in the Surrey Village of Lingfield, I'm very much a big Bonfire Night person.
November 5th was, without question, Lingfield's biggest day of the year. We had a huge flaming torchlight procession through the village, an enormous fire was lit, fireworks decorated the sky, and it was our very own gardener, Fuller, who always made the splendid Guy.
Last night's fire was not as big as Lingfield's, and one wouldn't expect it to be so, but the atmosphere was very much the same. There's something very primitive about gathering around a big fire.
I'm now wondering if we couldn't slowly abandon Halloween, and replace it with Bonfire Night; but I doubt if the French would understand.
I'm hoping this will become an annual event; so much better than going from house to house for sweets!
It was a good evening for it. Fireworks are fun but not so much for cats and dogs.
ReplyDeleteThere were no fireworks; just the fire. We used to buy fireworks from Gifi, but they are no longer allowed.
DeleteEvery religion has at least one holiday of a great bonfire, something basic.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Nothing nicer!
DeleteI probably should mention that the person on the extreme right was NOT a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
ReplyDeleteProbably, in rural France, a member of the far more dangerous.....
DeleteCoo Clucks Clan!!
Reknown for the quality of their eggs and the ferocity of their cockerels.....
Or the bucolic Moo, Muck, and Dustpan.
DeleteNothing nicer than a communal bonfire..... with parkin, potatoes baked in foil, marshmallows done three or four at a time on an old, telescopic toasting fork, homemade treacle toffee, equally homemade bonfire toffee and real tablet!
ReplyDeleteNow that is different and really quite healthy
I was saying yesterday that next year we should make some Treacle Toffee. It either breaks your teeth, or cements them together.
DeleteSafer, perhaps, to make some honeycomb!
DeleteI had hoped to get to our local community's bonfire this year but 'tis not to be as I am in Glasgow. There are no children in my village and I've not seen anyone guising for many years. However the local community includes the much larger Lower Bayble and they have a splendid display.
ReplyDeleteIt could simply be an excuse to all get together over a few drinks.
DeleteYou don't have to have real animal frightening fireworks. You could have sparklers. They look really cool.
ReplyDeleteBut who would the French like for their 'Guy Fawkes', that is the question? Not some chap from Yorkshire, that's for sure.
As political scandal is all the rage in the UK at the moment, why not a double Corbyn/Abbott Guy?
DeleteI was thinking more along French lines, but I don't know who the French see as their anti-heroes.
DeleteProbably Le Pen.
DeleteGuido is dead, long live Guido.
DeleteIs Le Pen dead? It must be a dead person. In England you could have Jimmy Saville. He's dead.
I can assure you that in Sussex we burn effigies of LIVING people. No doubt Trump would have been popular this year.
DeleteSamhain. A centuries-old festival where we honour our ancestors, tell spooky tales around the fire and go through rituals to foresee who we will marry. Festivals are essential to keep the spirits up with the darkening of the days. This one is my favourite. As for Nov. 5th, my sympathy is with Guy Fawkes.
ReplyDeleteJust the act of gathering around a big fire is wonderful; no matter the occasion.
DeleteWhen I was a child everyone had a bonfire on the 5th November and some fireworks to go with it as well. The air was thick with smoke afterwards. No fireworks for us now, and no bonfire at this time of year, but we still do have bonfires as and when and they still hold the magic of those childhood times.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of Winter is the natural time to have bonfires, after all the prunings, tidyings, etc. Guy Fawkes just gave us even more reason.
DeleteLooks like a Klu Klux Klan barbecue. I heard recently that Halloween began in Scotland before going over the Atlantic.
ReplyDeleteJill has just told us that Halloween is Celtic, not just Scottish. They didn't do trick or treat though...
DeleteWe're still not sure what she came as, but the general opinion was a Ku Klux Klan member; although she might claim otherwise.
DeleteMost villages around here will have a bonfire night on Saturday. I am going to one.
ReplyDeleteThe best one in the UK is at Lewes in Sussex, but so many people turn-up that they have to send them away. Even the local pubs issue tickets.
DeleteWe love bonfires here also. It brings people together and not only warms their body but also their hearts.
ReplyDeleteHalloween is very, very popular here. I used to love it as a child, had a great time making costumes for my kids as an adult and enjoyed all the children (over 100) who came to my door last night. They were all wonderfully costumed and so polite.
There are only about 5 children here who come round, and even they are getting a bit 'teenagerish' about it. I think an annual bonfire is the way ahead.
DeleteHalloween has gone the way of many fun holidays greedy.
ReplyDeleteI remember trick or treating as a child and we only went right on our street. Then my children went out as little ones and it was cute and fun. But now it is all greedy with car loads of kids being dropped of for as much as they can get. Big kids way too big teens. Just awful.
No fires here in the desert. We are just getting over our fire season. We see enough fires. I lost my home in 1993 in a huge wildfire.
cheers, parsnip
I remember hearing, some time back, that poisoned sweets had been found at Halloween, and that parents were throwing away all the handed-out sweets, and replacing them with their own bought sweets. It rather spoils the whole point.
DeleteA bonfire over Halloween every time as far as I am concerned.
ReplyDeleteAlphie
Me too. Much more fun.
DeleteI tried telling our neighbours about November 5th, but their eyes glazed over so I gave up!
ReplyDeleteWe are NOT allowed any outside fires, bonfires, open pit fires etc, in Haute Vienne, apparently due to pollution. Seems rather odd as most households use wood burning stoves for heating and many for cooking...we asked the Maire but he said if a neighbour complained, then we would be prosecuted. Lovely.
Anyway, when we first arrived, we went to a Bonfire Party at some ex-pats, and the gendarmes were called so the fire had to be put out! We thought it was rather a shame until we realised that the end of their garden was just over the fence from the local Intermarché bottled gaz store...
I think we have strange rules about fire lighting here too, but no-one seems to know what they are. I always light my Autumn fire after some rain; just to be cautious.
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ReplyDeleteGuy Fawkes just gave us even more reason.
ReplyDeleteแคมฟรอก