We are of course biased when we say that just about everything is rooted in nature, but when it comes to Halloween, we really do know of what we speak.
As autumn turns to winter the fields, streams and hedgerows of our beautiful county take on a mystical outlook. It could be the early nights or the misty mornings, the low sunlight, or the all too common icy starts to the day, but whatever it is, change is in the air.
Before it was anything else, Halloween was a celebration of autumn, a bounteous time of harvest and preparation for the harsh months ahead. It is a reminder of our connection to the earth, a truly ancient tradition that has far more to do with the rhythm of the seasons than trick or treating, fancy dress, and spooky stories.
The tradition of trick or treating, by our standards, is of course a relatively modern introduction to Halloween, dating back a ‘mere’ 500 years or so, which is nothing compared to its origins as ‘Samhain’, the Celtic ceremony that began over 2,000 years ago. The invading Romans added their bit after conquering the Celts in the first century, and indeed the tradition of apple bobbing that is continued today is part of a much earlier recognition of Pomona, the Goddess of fruit and trees, whose symbol was, of course the apple.
But it was very much the twentieth century influence of the USA that shaped much of what we see today, a long way from All Souls Day, or All Hallows. Halloween is big business, with supermarket shelves groaning under the weight of orange and black decorations, funny skeletons, pumpkins, and fake spider webs.
Fun Halloween Fact #1: 25% of all ‘candy’ sold in the USA is purchased for Halloween.
Let’s not forget though that this is a busy time in nature, a time to store food for the coming winter as plants and animals prepare to hunker down.
One of the many great joys associated with having a rural location like Steep Marsh is the ever-changing show that nature provides, and at this time of year as the trees change colour, and drop their leaves we are treated to some of its most spectacular displays. Soon, birds of all shapes and sizes will be descending on the hawthorn trees that surround our offices, gorging themselves on the blood red berries.
Fun Halloween Fact #2: You will know that the collective noun for a group of crows is of course a Murder, but did you know that a group of thrushes is a Mutation, it’s also a Wake of buzzards, an Asylum of cuckoos, and a Mischief of magpies.
Whatever you are up to this autumn, have a wonderful time in nature, it’s all out there.
