What a great thread.

I have to agree, gloredhel. Sorry, Joe, but I think you're wrong on this one.

"Like Christmas and Easter, the festival of Hallowe'en originated in Pagan celebration. Even though its name derives from the Christian festival of All Hallows or All Saints Day... in the eighth century All Hallows' Day was moved to November the first to counteract Pagan celebrations held on that date."

For example, the timing of Christmas was due to a pagan festival previously a bonfire to encourage the Sun to return in the depths of winter, and because it's difficult to make the serfs give up their holidays (Holy days) they just wacked in a different meaning while allowing the serfs their time off while weaning them away to the new religion.

As far as Halloween celebration (I'm drawing a distinction between recent customs over the last two hundred years and its origins many centuries ago) goes, the Irish have always been big on it and the American version of celebrating the modern Halloween comes from these Irish origins, while in England we are following on (commercially at least) from you merkins. Don't forget, one of the reasons we don't celebrate individual days as much as the Americans is that we have on average four to five weeks' holiday a year and you lot seem to get far less.

Sadie Damascus was asking about Reynardine usually boxing day in the UK is a day for the big hunt more Christmas than Halloween. Robb Johnson has written one (on his Album "Maggie Thatcher- My part in her downfall" irregular records) called Boxing Day with the chorus:

"And it feels like winter,
spit to eat and hell to pay.
And it feels like Reynardine on Boxing Day"

John P say Hello to William and Felicia for me, I booked them last year as my last guests at the folk club I was running (Uxbridge) before I left. It was on my birthday and it was a fantastic night.

And finally Halloween songs

The whole Album of the king of elfland's daughter (with Christopher Lee and Derek Brimestone on it)

Cllr