Why the Halloween meme left Guy Fawkes standing

When I was a kid, back in the 1960s, Halloween wasn't a thing. At least not in the UK: what we all looked forward to was November the 5th, Guy Fawkes night, when we got to have a big bonfire and loose off some fireworks -- and maybe a limp barbecue afterwards that mostly consisted of jacket potatoes. We had little idea what the Gunpowder Plot was all about, or why we were remembering it. It was something that had happened so long ago it had no relevance to our young lives -- and like most such things, even Xmas, had long lost any historical meaning: it was simply an excuse for a celebration.

But by the time our children were old enough to get involved, the Guy Fawkes meme was all but over. People did still have Bonfire Night, but the energy and passion we'd put into making and dressing a guy, and collecting money for fireworks, had all been transferred to getting dressed up for Halloween -- and even the adults were getting involved. Why? You could put it down to the influence of America on a smaller nation whose cultural influence on the world stage was clearly in decline. But then, even trends have a core of sense to them. Halloween wasn't just about being a slave to Hollywood. 

That's because the Halloween meme has a more atavistic appeal than the faux auto-da-fé revenge-fest of Bonfire Night. Dressing up is more exciting than burning down, despite the fireworks. We have little enough fun in our busy urban lives as it is, and getting creative with our personality is a far bigger draw than commemorating the crimes of an obscure 17th-century terrorist. Being someone or something else for the day is a surprisingly liberating experience, however unrelated to the meaning of Halloween: summoning the spirits of the living turns out to be more fun than celebrating the dead.  

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