Halloween in England
Halloween is very popular in England. In parts of Northern England, Mischief Night on November 4 is still a popular tradition. This is the day when children play “tricks” on adults. It has gotten so serious that was once little tricks turned into arts of vandalism and caused the English government to post serious fines for these violations. Street fires and the unhinging neighbors gates which are usually thrown into the lake afterward are examples of vandalism in England. From 2001 to 2006, Halloween spending in the United Kingdom rose from 12 million to 120 million due to American cultural influence.
Trick-or-treating is popular but is considered by some to be a sort of begging. Bobbing for apples is popular and has a certain twist to it. Once an apple is caught, it is sometimes peeled and tossed over the shoulder in hopes that the falling would be in the shape of a letter which would be the first letter of the first name of that person’s true love. One superstition is that the longer the peel, the longer that person’s life will be and the first one to get an apple would be the first to marry.
Other traditions in the United Kingdom would be making toffee-apples and apple tarts. Coins are sometimes baked inside them. Despite some of these unique traditions, it is claimed that the United Kingdom stopped using some of their traditions due to the United States’ cultural influence. On the other hand, in Welsh, Halloween is known as Nos Galan Gaeaf where spirits are said to walk around and a white lady is said to appear. Bonfires are lit on the hillsides in the night to mark the tradition.
Works Cited/Further Reading
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween
