November 5th (One day late)

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I can think of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.
Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
To blow up the King and Parli'ment.
Three-score barrels of powder below
To prove old England's overthrow;
By God's providence he was catch'd
With a dark lantern and burning match.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!

Most people have heard of Guy Fawkes Night, right? I would hope that people have read the Alan Moore comic series "V for Vendetta", or at least have seen the movie starring the delicious Natalie Portman. The series is set in a near-future England where most of the world has been involved in a nuclear war and the fascist Norsefire party controls everything. The title character, who calls himself 'V' wears a Guy Fawkes mask while plotting revenge on the people who imprisoned and tortured him, and in doing so, brings the fascist government down (we assume). The real Guy Fawkes was a member of a group of English catholic revolutionaries who plotted to blow up the British houses of parliament and to kill King James I of Scotland in 1605. They hoped for an England that would be more "tolerant" of Catholicism. Guy Fawkes was in charge of setting up and detonating 36 barrels of explosives that had been placed in tunnels under the House of Lords. He was discovered before he could detonate the gunpowder, when word of the plot got out to members of the parliament. Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators were captured, tortured, tried and executed.

People in Great Britain still celebrate Guy Fawkes day by lighting bonfires, setting off firecrackers and hanging effigies of Guy Fawkes.

My point? Intolerance. California Proposition #8. Racial Profiling. Sexism. Religious intolerance. As uncouth and unprofessional as it sounds, apparently the only to make a point is to light a fire under it. Or at least plot to. Guy Fawkes is remembered 400 years after his death. W will be forgotten on January 21st.

November 1st

November 1st is also known as All Saints' Day, and is sometimes called Hallowmas. It is a feast day in the Roman Catholic church. All Saint's Day is an opportunity to remember all saints and martyrs throughout Christian history. As part of this day of obligation, followers are expected to attend church and to not work.


Remembering saints and martyrs and dedicating a day to them each year has been a Christian tradition since the 4th century AD, but it wasn't until 609AD that Pope Boniface IV designated May 13th to remember all martyrs. In 837AD, Pope Gregory IV extended the festival to remember all the saints and designated November 1st as the date, to continue a church policy of scheduling feast days around pagan festivals, in an attempt to make assimilation easier. ("I'm not celebrating the Halloween harvest festival, I'm just starting a little early on All Saint's Day, I swear!")



Mexicans celebrate November 1st (and 2nd) a little differently. They call it Día de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Mexican writer Octavio Paz observed once that Mexicans have no qualms about getting up close and person with death, and he writes that he ""...chases after it, mocks it, courts it, hugs it, sleeps with it; it is his favorite plaything and his most lasting love." Mexicans celebrate Día de los Muertos with reunions at family burial plots, they eat special foods, watch fireworks, and adorn themselves and their homes with images of skeletons.




























I acknowledge November 1st merely as the official end of the best month I have ever experienced. In the month of October I spent eight days traveling to Ireland, from Ireland or in Ireland; nine days drinking/partying with friends, ten days working, two days teaching and two days on flight call doing nothing. Oh, and then there was that whole getting married thing. Not bad for a Norwegian. Not bad at all.
I can never remember actually celebrating or making a big deal of All Saint's Day. I don't know if it is just such a letdown after Halloween that people just don't care, or if Americans just that aren't into saints. I know Billy Joel preferred to laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints, but I can't really remember why. Perhaps the sinners are much more fun. I will have to research this further.

All Hallows Eve

Originating in the Celtic festival of Samain, Halloween was once a celebration of the end of the harvest. The Gaels believed that on October 31st, the boundary between the living and the dead opened, and the dead were able to walk the earth, causing sickness and crop damage. Gaels would light bonfires made of the bones of slaughtered livestock and people would wear costumes and masks to placate the spirits of the dead and sometimes to walk among them.

Pumpkin carving dates back to an Irish legend of 'Stingy Jack', farmer who tricked the devil to climb a tree, and then trapped him in the tree by carving a cross on the tree. According to legend, the devil cursed 'Stingy Jack' to walk the earth carrying a lantern carved out of a hollowed out turnip. Jack-O-Lanterns have since been carved from rutabagas and pumpkins as well. Ancient Celts used the "head" of the vegetable to make lanterns to frighten off evil spirits, and when people came to America, they discovered that pumpkins were easier to carve, made better lanterns, and probably looked scarier when used as a flaming head for Ichabod Crane's horseman.

So what does this have to do with our own tradition of buying the best candy to give to little children who are dressed as Power Rangers and Thomas the Train? No clue. I would like to see more turnip carving. Pumpkins should be saved for the raccoons. They have traveled a long way.