Halloween and nature
As leaves of golden yellow, burgundy red and warm russet, gently float to the ground, something lurks in the shadows, ready to jump out and give you a fright. Have you guessed what it is yet? It can only be… Halloween!
Back when Nic and I were growing up, Halloween wasn’t really much of a ‘thing’. I remember dressing up a couple of times as a spider and cat and even going Trick or Treating once but that was about it. These days, Halloween is a whole new ball game and our kids, like so many others, wholeheartedly throw themselves into the celebrations. There’s something about it that’s incredibly alluring to youngsters. It might be the bright oranges, greens and purples against a black backdrop that excites the senses. Or perhaps the creepy and sometimes gruesome images of ghosts, witches, gargantuan spiders and lashings of fake blood. Or maybe it’s simply all about the sweets!
It's only since reading about the origins of Halloween and its connection to nature, that I’ve developed a fondness for it. For those of you who are unacquainted with its history, Halloween’s roots can be traced back to the British and Irish Celtic festivities of Samhain.
This autumn celebration of the harvest season was seen as the beginning of the new year.
It was believed that at this time, the dead returned to visit the homes of the living. Bonfires were lit and various masks and costumes were worn to ward off any evil spirits. Nowadays the fancy dress is merely for fun but the tradition behind it has remained.
When most people think of Halloween, the image that is conjured up is one of pumpkins – or jack-o'-lanterns. According to Irish mythology, the story goes that Stingy Jack tricked the Devil and was then trapped between heaven and hell after he died. For the rest of eternity, he was doomed to wander between the two with just a turnip lantern to light the way. After many Irish people emigrated to the US, carved turnips were replaced with carved pumpkins and the custom has endured.
This year, we’ve both made the most of some local events by going pumpkin picking at Wood Hall Farm in Codsall and taking part in a Halloween trek at Wolseley Wildlife Centre. Both of these activities have been great ways to get the kids out and about, making the most of autumn. The weather on both days was glorious, offering up bright blue skies and warming golden sunshine – but still plenty of squishy mud to squelch wellies into. Our pumpkin haul was quite something, boasting a colourful array of produce in oranges, greens, whites – some even sporting a pretty pinkish hue. The shapes and textures were somewhat eclectic too – many far removed from the traditional smooth sphere we’re used to seeing!
The Halloween trek was just for the two toddlers out of our combined brood of four and proved to be a lovely way to spend the morning. The engaging trek leader guided us along woodland trails as we kept our eyes peeled for various Halloween-themed pictures that were dotted about. As we found each one, we ticked them off our worksheet and took part in different activities, such as making a broomstick out of twigs, drawing a scary creature, and mixing a magic potion of leaves and other natural items scavenged from the woodland floor.
For the final activity, the toddlers were given an insect jar and a magnifying glass and sent to find creepy crawlies and other creatures. We managed to uncover a worm – and, to the utter joy of the little ones (and us!), a baby toad beneath an apple tree. What a find!
If you still need convincing of Halloween’s connection with nature, simply go on Pinterest and you’ll be inundated with nature-based Halloween crafts. Making spooky decorations can become a fulltime job if you let it! So, let’s embrace Halloween, and all its interconnected autumnal goodness, and get our children out and about in the great outdoors at this truly beautiful time of year.
Posted by Laura