by Michael | Nov 1, 2022 | Blog
By the time you read this, Halloween will be all over and done with for another year!
But did you appreciate or endure (or even ignore!) it?
Perhaps you wondered how such a bizarre custom became part of our calendar?
Origins
The festival dates back some 2,000 years and is an offshoot of the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. This marked the end of summer and the havest, and the beginning of the dark, cold winter. It also marked the boundary between the world of the living and that of the dead.
The ancient Celts believed that on the night of 31st October, ghosts of their dead would revisit the world. Large bonfires were lit across the villages to ward off any evil spirits that might be roaming abroad. The priests, otherwise known as Druids, would have led the celebrations. They also ensured that the hearth fire of each house was re-lit from the glowing embers of the bonfire, to protect and heat the people during the long, cold, dark winter months to come.
Development
At the end of the 6th century the Christians arrived in Britain, along with their festivals. These included “All Hallows’ Day” (or All Saints’ Day), which memorialises Christian martyrs. In the 8th century. This was moved to 1st November (probably to replace the Celtic Samhain festival).
Modern-day
So the Samhain eve became “All-hallows-even”; later, “Hallow Eve”, before morphing into “Hallowe’en” and “Halloween”. It is characterised by children’s games (eg apple-bobbing) and in recent years it has been influenced by American traditions (eg “trick or treating”).
Halloween is a special time of the year when many believe that the spirit and physical world can come into contact and magic holds sway.
I’ve never yet performed a Halloween ceremony, but I’m game to do so next year!
Photo by David Menidrey on Unsplash
by Michael | Oct 31, 2017 | Blog
The idea of a Halloween wedding seems to be catching on nowadays. As with other unconventional ceremonies.
As a civil celebrant, I’ve put together, and officiated at, a few unusual ones – but I haven’t done a Halloween wedding as yet.
Why a Halloween wedding?
Why on earth would people adopt the Halloween theme of ghoulies and ghosties for the biggest day of their life?
One reason is that a growing number of people nowadays don’t see why a wedding should be regarded as a merely solemn affair.
You may prefer to include humour (to reflect your own personalities), and your choice of music can be eclectic, to say the least. You can choose your venue, and that might be quite way-out (literally too!) – under water, in a hot-air balloon, on a mountain top, wherever your imagination might take you.
Is there anything wrong with freedom of choice for such a major event?
Make your choice
So why not choose an unconventional theme for your wedding? Of course, you aren’t limited to Halloween. You can go Goth. Or Star Wars or Elvis, or wherever your imagination suggests. Such a theme will bring smiles to the faces of all but the most dyed-in-the-wool sourpusses; it’s a peephole into both your personalities. Why not extend it to the Dark Side, if that’s what turns you both on?
Notice, by the way, that I say “both”. Whatever you do, don’t try and surprise your partner on a subject as big as this!
The important thing to realise is that you are not restricted to a religious wedding in a church, say, if you don’t want it. You almost certainly won’t be allowed a themed wedding at the registrars’ service. However, you can have your theme at a civil celebrant-led ceremony, and, depending how serious etc. you want to be, you may be able to combine it with elements from other cultures etc. Remember that it is your big day, and your wishes should be paramount.
Well, if I can help you further, please give me a call or knock loudly on my coffin! And have a happy Halloween!
by Michael | Oct 16, 2015 | Blog
Not everybody wants a conventional wedding!
I’ve put together, and officiated at, a few unusual ceremonies – atop an Iron Age fort, a handfasting, a house blessing … However, I have not had the pleasure of conducting a ghoulish one!
Of course, with Halloween approaching, my thoughts have turned to things that go bump in the night, the Undead and nasties in general.
Would anyone want to adopt a Halloween theme for the biggest day of their life, though?
Well, evidently the answer is “yes”. It certainly happens. Gothic weddings are not uncommon. And “jumping the broom”, using a witch’s besom, is really quite popular (although probably unrelated to witches, in truth!)
But why would you want to have a ghoulish theme?
A growing number of people nowadays don’t see why a wedding should be regarded as a merely solemn affair. They want to include humour (to reflect their own personality), and their choice of music can be eclectic, to say the least. They wish to choose their venue, and that might be quite way-out (literally too!) – under water, in a hot-air balloon, on a mountain top, wherever your imagination might take you.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
So why not choose unconventional themes for your wedding? You can go with Star Wars or Elvis, or wherever your imagination suggests. Such a theme will bring smiles to the faces of all but the most dyed-in-the-wool sourpusses; it’s a peephole into both your personalities. Why not extend it to the Dark Side, if that’s what turns you both on?
Notice, by the way, that I say “both”. Whatever you do, don’t try and surprise your partner on a subject as big as this!
The important thing to realise is that you are not restricted to a religious wedding in a church, say, if you don’t want it. You almost certainly won’t be allowed a themed wedding at the registrars’ service. However, you can have your theme at a civil celebrant-led ceremony, and, depending how serious etc. you want to be, you may be able to combine it with elements from other cultures etc. Remember that it is your big day, and your wishes should be paramount.
Well, it seems to be growing light – time for me to get back into my coffin. Hope I’ve given you some food for thought and that I may be allowed out to join you in late 2016, and we can share your Halloween wedding together!
