Running in the rain this morning nearly didn’t happen. I lay in bed and listened to the rain and very nearly rolled over and went back to sleep. But I needed to pop into the coop store for a couple of items necessary for serving breakfast. As one way or another I was going to need to go out I decided I might as well put on my running gear with a proper waterproof on top. In the event it had just about stopped raining when I set off although it did rain in me briefly for part of the run. Mostly though I managed to stay dry.
Every so often the cloud thins and the sun even tries to emerge but basically today is another dull wet day. But it is the beginning of October and we have had a good long spell of largely dry weather. The river running through the village is filling up again even though it’s not quite reached its bouncing best as yet. The autumn colours in the trees are coming on nicely too.
So it’s the first of October. I’ve not yet seen notices about booking early for Christmas - it will happen soon - but the company Etsy sent me an email asking “Ready for spooky season? 🎃” I must block these emails. I bought one thing from Etsy ages ago and I’ve had advertising emails ever since.
(Aside:
“Etsy What is Etsy? Etsy connects people looking for unique goods with independent sellers around the world. When you shop on Etsy.com, you can choose from millions of handmade, vintage, and craft supply items created and curated by millions of independent sellers. Learn more about Etsy. Who are Etsy sellers?”
And:
“Etsy Etsy, Inc. is an American e-commerce company focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. These items fall under a wide range of categories, including jewelry, bags, clothing, home décor and furniture, toys, art, as well as craft supplies and tools. Items described as vintage must be at least 20 years old.”
Basically it’s a way of buying and selling tat online.)
The “spooky season”! Every year it has me spluttering about the nonsense of it. It’s not so much the fact of Hallowe’en per se. If people want to celebrate Samhain that’s their business. (According to Wikipedia “Samhain is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or "darker-half" of the year.”) No, what I object to is the commercialisation, the creation of Hallowe’en greetings cards and people wishing each other Happy Hallowe’en! So I was grumpily amused to find this article in the Guardian.
Where on earth did the idea of a Hallowe’en tree come from? Even my Number One Granddaughter who decorates her window with stick on spiders and spiderwebs and bats doesn’t put up a tree! So where does it originate? Various theories are around:
“Some say it began in 2018, around the time John Lewis started selling illuminated bare-branched trees as Halloween decor.”
“others insist that in the US, trees with Halloween-themed decorations began appearing years before that. In Bradbury’s book, a group of children travel back in time to explore the origins of Halloween, led by a guide who has a tree hung with jack-o’-lanterns.”
I’ve read quite a lot of Ray Bradbury but I’ve not read The Hallowe’en Tree. Maybe I need to look for it.
On the subject of trees, I seem to remember there being talk of Easter Trees earlier this year. That annoyed me too! Trees are for Christmas!
My little Christmas Tree in its pot, however, seems not to have survived the drought very well. It’s still alive but one whole section is withered - not really in a fit state to come indoors in December! How very annoying!
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
Well, when escaping from the devil, Jack did climb a tree and carve s cross on it so the devil couldn't follow him.
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