FIRST the early Christmas tat, then the poor old hot cross bun is a problem.
Fireworks frighten pets and church leaders moan about Hallowe'en. A plague on these killjoys. Perhaps we should return to the ancient British cycle of festivals to mark solstices, equinoxes and the start of the four seasons that fall between.
We'
ve just had the Samhain Fire at the beginning of winter, and midwinter yule approaches.
Easter, May Day, midsummer and harvest festival have also survived 2,000 years of foreign interference.
Holly, ivy, mistletoe, yule logs, feasting, gifts, trees and Santa almost certainly have pagan origins and I fear the same goes for the poor old bun. The Picts had a Bannock Bealltainn and the Saxons ate round loaves celebrating their goddess Oestra (Easter). Both carried a cross, signifying the four quarters of the moon or the solstices and equinoxes.
The Good Friday "bun" was originally rectangular and kept for a year. It was then reheated and eaten. The slice with the cross promised good luck and the last slice was hurled into a river.
Our spiced bun was popular throughout the year in Elizabethan times.
The Queen then commanded that bakers could supply them only at Easter and Christmas.
So the bun never was confined to Easter, unlike the pagan treats of eggs, bunnies and bonnets. I wonder if that law was ever repealed and what the penalty was. Ye supermarkets beware!
Hallowe'en is the most ironic. The witches and ghosties paraded today are actually of Christ-ian invention to frighten the ungodly and provide something nasty to be overcome on All Saints' Day. The real solution rests with consumers. If we all refused to buy the out-of-season stuff, retailers would soon stop stocking it.
May the Force be with you.
Mark Williams
Mantling Road
Littlehampton
-----------------------------
Click here to return toLittlehampton Gazette news.Where are you? Add your pin to the Herald's international readers' map by clicking here.Email the Gazette: roger.green@littlehamptongazette.co.ukWant to read this page in French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Urdu or 48 other languages? click here for Google translate.
