Bonfires, Poppies and Samhain

Students who are abroad in Great Britain and Ireland for the fall semester get to immerse themselves in a number of autumnal cultural traditions of that region. Our overseas blogs have been discussing these traditions for the benefit of students who wish to engage with the cultures that they are calling home for this semester. 

A popular holiday in America, Halloween has its roots in the celtic tradition of Samhain (Ireland) or Samhuinn (Scotland). According to legend, these traditions are when the veil between the world of the living and the dead is the weakest, allowing a closer connection with spirits. Mary McSwiney discusses Ireland’s prototypical Halloween tradition and Emily Goetsch writes about the exciting fire festivals that students are encouraged to attend. 

For England, Regional Director Dr. Peter Leuner examined the cultural significance of bonfire night on November 5th and the wearing of poppies on November 11th. 

"On or about the 5th November,” Dr. Leuner writes, "we still light bonfires and have firework displays in commemoration of a thwarted 17th century terrorist plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament along with all of its occupants.” The event is marked by fireworks and the burning of conspirator Guy Fawkes in effigy. 

In addition to Bonfire Night, Dr. Leuner also explains a more serious, commemorative event. "At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 the First World War came to an end… Buying and wearing the red poppy (symbol of the blood-drenched Western Front where nearly 1 million British & British Empire soldiers died) doesn’t just channel funds into the care and support of veterans; it also has huge cultural and “public memory” significance."