Halloween in New York

Since 1973 New York City has played host to the nation's largest night parade on October 31. Anyone in costume can join the parade. More than 50,000 do every year, watched by more than two million people. I'd never heard of the event until this week when several of us went down to Greenwich Village to witness the festivities for ourselves.

Streets in the village were blocked off allowing costumed revellers to take over the area. As more and more people gathered the streets became increasingly festive. Tribes of skeletons wandered by, followed by pregnant nuns, zombies and Grim Reapers in numbers that can't be healthy. Homer Simpson also wandered by at one point, along with Spiderman, Batman and Superman. Mozart and dozens of Southern Belles were out on the town - at least half were drag queens.


Earlier in the day debate had raged over the meaning of Halloween. Some quick internet research revealed that its origins trace back to the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain. This festival celebrated the end of the harvest season. The Gaels believed that on October 31 the worlds of the living and the dead briefly overlapped enabling the dead to live again. This cross-over was believed to cause disease, pestilence and crop failure. Halloween took hold in the USA after two million Irish migrated while escaping the Irish Potato Famine (1845-1849). I doubt these migrants would recognise their festival today.

Meanwhile, back here in London, festivities are in full swing for Guy Fawkes. Our weekend evenings have been filled with the sound of exploding gunpowder as backyard pyrotechnics take to the sky. It seems that everyone loves a good party no matter where you go.