British Cemetery and Cremation Records from Deceased Online

Now the clocks have gone back and our evenings are darker earlier, the mood is set for Hallowe'en, which falls today on 31 October 2018 For the past few weeks, my local supermarket has been filled with ghoulish chocolates and plastic orange buckets, the nearby bakery has almond macaroon monster fingers, and tonight the streets will be filled with children (and adults) in spooky costumes. But behind the commercialisations and pranks, lies a serious tradition dating back centuries.  Hallowe'en - or All Hallows' Even(ing)  - held great meaning for many of our ancestors. Different regions had unique ways of counting the hours until the Christian feast of  All Saints' Day (All Hallows or Hallowmas)  on the 1st November. The origins of the festival appear to be non-Christian, coming from the ancient Celtic night of  Samhain . In common with other autumn festivals, Samhain celebrated the harvest and marked the beginning of the dark half of the year by lighting fires...

When I was sixteen, only one family in my neighbourhood conspicuously celebrated Hallowe'en . This was an American family who, it seemed to me, were having more fun at this time of year than everyone else. Every day in the week leading up to the 31st October I noticed new ghoulish decorations attached to the front of their house and increasingly excited children returning home. Today, I see carved pumpkins in almost every other window. Trick-or-treating is more popular in Britain than ever, and more of us are adopting US-style costumes and make-up for the night. But beyond the orange decorations and spooky costumes lies a serious tradition. Hallowe'en - or All Hallows' Even(ing) - held great meaning for many of our ancestors. Different regions had unique ways of counting the hours until the Christian feast of All Saints' Day (All Hallows or Hallowmas) on the 1st November. The origins of the festival appear to be non-Christian, coming from the ancient Celtic night...