Halloween Takes Over Surrey
October 31st to many children around the county, signifies the exciting night of Halloween. However, to others, it is merely another date and should not be celebrated, as it overshadows the Christian festival of All Saints Day on 1st November. Many parents experience the sudden rush and pressure to buy decorations, costumes and pumpkins for the occasion, which can feel overwhelming. This excessiveness has been heavily influenced by the USA, despite the origins of Halloween being rooted perhaps surprisingly, closer to home, in Ireland. Has this materialistic day overtaken the Christian day of All Saints in England?
Contrary to popular belief, Halloween originates from Ireland; originally the Celtic festival of Samhain. It is some 2000 years old, where simple activities such as a lighting a bonfire and wearing costumes to ward off ghosts, were practiced. It was renamed “Halloween” from the Scottish term for “All Hallows Eve” where ‘eve’ turned into ‘een’. This tradition was brought to America by the earliest Irish immigrants and from then on, the USA began to celebrate it with panache!
But is this too much? Despite not being a Bank Holiday, Halloween is now celebrated in England with just as much eagerness. With Halloween costumes, pumpkins, lights, Halloween themed food adorning the aisles of local supermarkets, it is hard to avoid. Local houses and streets are taken over by Halloween enthusiasts who decorate their houses to the extreme, some even with hi-tech sound effects. What’s more, with many American residents living in Surrey, partly due to the two American Schools in Surrey (the ACS in Cobham and Tasis in Thorpe), there is now a large American influence to Halloween in the local area. An American citizen who lives in Walton, describes American Halloween as, “the third biggest holiday in the U.S after Christmas and Thanksgiving….all houses are involved!” This in turn, has led to increasing demand for local shops to supply Halloween inspired decorations; such Garson’s Farm in Esher which has Halloween themed displays and sells a variety of pumpkins.
As well as regular pumpkins with which we are all familiar, Garson’s Farm has large array of unusually coloured pumpkins – orange, white, and green - with unexpected names such as “Polar Bear”, “Atlantic Giant” and “Snowman”. These speciality pumpkins are the result of seed trials and are supplied by another local firm, Tozer Seeds in Cobham. The profits from the sale of these trial pumpkins are returned to Tozer Seeds to be used toward the seed company’s chosen charity. This year, that charity is Cherry Trees respite care home for children and young people with disabilities, located in East Clandon, Surrey. So perhaps even if you don’t agree with the principles of Halloween and its commercialisation, you will agree that some good can come from it.
Libby McDonagh, St George's Weybridge.
