Please excuse my language in this post. I am angry.
I am up in arms over this dickhead I have clashed horns with on an internet forum. The topic was trick or treating. Some people were claiming that it has only started happening in the UK in the last 20 years under the influence of America. I knew otherwise so piped up. This is what I said:
I suspect the tradition comes from an old Yule begging tradition, old women (often widows) used to to go begging from door to door saying a rhyme that varied from one region to another, records date from the mid-sixteenth century.
Distinctive Hallowe'en trick or treating can be traced back in the UK to the beginning of the twentieth century :-)
All true, as discussed at length by Ronald Hutton, leading historian on the origins of British folk customs, in his book Stations of the Sun. Which another poster suggested this guy should read.
Dickhead said:
The truth is prosaic. It came from America and is promoted by the High Street.
To which I responded with:
Are you denying the likely British roots of this tradition in the face of historical evidence? It's probable that trick or treating as we know it today was rekindled under American influence. But it's fairly obvious that the traditions both here and in America have their own individual heritages.
This is obviously speculation on my part, but not unjustifiable I think. The response I got was infuriating:
I can hardly do that if nobody presents any historical evidence.
Yes, and in ancient prehistory we all worshipped a Mother Goddess until the nasty Christians came along and stole our calendar. Do me a favour.
When advised by another poster he was being harsh he actually implied that he had prepared a much more scathing reply that he had toned down. He went on to say:
I know that but it bores me to objection when people promote nonsense about the past, about the beliefs and actions of our ancestors. Why do some people feel they must belong to an ancient tradition in order for their own beliefs to be legitimate and viable in our modern society?
Was that what I was doing?! Hardly! I despise that as much as anyone as I feel strongly that pagan literature is incredibly misleading about the origins of modern paganism and I was duped, like many people for many years before I read historical research on the matter.
All I was saying was that there was an old begging custom at Yule (by which I meant the Christmas season) that was likely transferred to Hallowe'en at some point and that Hallowe'en (note, I steered clear of the name Samhain) trick or treating can be traced back through historical records to 100 years ago. Why do arrogant wankers read things into posts that aren't there?!
I am so frustrated because the forum in question is moderated and not 24 hours, so I have to wait until 9am tomorrow to reply to the cocksucker.
Argh!
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