Fireworks, No Bonfires

I know it's been a slightly longer time than usual since I last posted. Either this week was particularly busy, or I didn't have much to write about. Or both, I don't really know.

So, here are a few thoughts about Bonfire Night (or Fireworks Night, as you can see from the title, no bonfires were in evidence); which I've actually been thinking about for a while now. Mainly because there were a few kids locally who were out asking for a 'penny for the guy', and they started doing it about two weeks ago. Unfortunately, I live above a shop, and they had decided to position themselves in front of the shop. Quite a smart move on their part, as loads of people passed them over that time, but it meant that almost every time I went in or out I had to go past them. They did ask me a couple of times, but I refused-I didn't want to have to do the same thing every day for two weeks. Though I was sort of impresssed by their tenacity-it got pretty cold at times, and I can't really see that it would have been worth it. But it made me think about the origins of the whole thing. I mean, obviously, it represents Guy Fawkes, but what is the point of the giving-what are people giving money for? Something I've never really thought about before.

So, what did you to celebrate/commemorate this weekend? To be honest, it's not something I've ever really thought about much. I don't dislike it, but I've never really been one much for big gatherings, and this has always seemed more like an excuse than a reason. It may have been different when it first started, but how many people now actually know what was going on, why Guy Fawkes tried to do what he did. And would they be for it or against it? But this year, I did go out to celebrate-with my home group. We met for hot dogs, and then the plan was that we go to the Racecourse to see their display. That turned out to be a bit iffy, because of the weather (yes, no,yes, no, YES), but it cleared up enough in the end that we could go. We didn't go in, partly because we left later than we originally intended, and partly because we just wanted to watch the fireworks and then go back; which we could do quite well enough from outside. Actually, from where we ended up standing, we probably got a better view than if we had been inside, as there were some fireworks that were quite close to where we were. They may not have been from the Racecourse (though I can't imagine who else nearby would bother), but we more or less ended up with two displays-or that's what it felt like, anyway. Which was brilliant. On the way back, I saw some Poles, and I did wonder what they thought of it all-if they had any idea what it was all about. But then, probably the same could be said of almost anyone. Why do we still celebrate this? And then we went back for tea and biscuits (how very English that sounds), and a bit of chat. And very nice it was too.

I was also thinking about the difference between us and the States in this-they don't have Guy Fawkes Night, so Halloween is a much bigger event. It's never really going to get that big over here, I think, simply because we move from one to the other-celebrating the one after October would kind of get in the way of the other. But the other thing it made me think about is why it is that everyone knows about All Hallows Eve, but not All Hallows Day. Or All Saints Day in modern English. Which is November 1st. And the day after that is All Souls Day. Which is hardly celebrated-or even known-even in churches. Why is that, do you think?