Autumn celebrations

I was rather disturbed by local television news reports (I was in Derbyshire) during the past week dealing with arrangements for those not wishing to be disturbed at the doors of their homes by young persons demanding sweets as a reward for assuming costumes of what one might call a Gothic character, representing Death, ghosts or witches. The idea that the “celebration” of Hallowe’en is an established part of the cultural landscape of Britain is if I am not mistaken a recent development. The custom has apparently crossed the Atlantic in both directions, an American development of earlier Irish traditions. Meanwhile the celebration of Bonfire Night seems to be in decline. Fireworks are in evidence, but Guy Fawkes less so: the masks which were once on sale in newsagents next to the toffee are nowhere to be seen.

This development is without doubt partly attributable to economics: retailers can sell more costumes associated with Hallowe’en. There is little money to be made from a guy constructed from clothes no longer of any use. Safety concerns about fireworks may also play a part.

I wonder however if the Protestant nature of Bonfire Night, which is essentially a celebration of the failure of a Catholic coup, has meant that in some quarters at least its decline is little mourned.