Paul’s Blog

I noticed something strange this week… suddenly Hallowe`en has become a season in Japan. There is more than a week before the 31st, but already there are Hallowe`en goods in the shops, special Hallowe`en food and meals, and even Hallowe`en parties!

In fact, Hallowe`en is not a season, but it`s really just one night. It is a very magical and special night for children,  so I think it`s a little sad to see it turned into a commercial festival by the shops. If the season lasts too long, it will lose its meaning…

November 1 used to be the beginning of the New Year, so Oct 31 was actually New Year`s Eve. For that reason, all the ghosts and spirits used to return that night to stop the new year beginning, and to cause trouble. Thus, all the Saints–or Hallows–also had to return to help fight them, and there would be a large battle in the sky! November 1 is thus All Hallows` Day, and the night before it is All Hallows` Eve, or Hallowe`en.

In England, the weather is already cold by that time, and the nights are very dark. Everyone dresses up and goes out to parties. We don`t do Trick or Treat in England at all, but we do other traditional games instead.

I love these old traditions but I dislike it when they become too commercialised and people forget the real meaning. Did you know the real meaning of Hallowe`en?

 

So this weekend, I went to watch my friend David Dycus playing live at Bumphys in Kakuozan. It’s an Irish pub, and the atmosphere is really nice. Usually, there are just a handful of people, but this time, for some reason, there were just more and more friends who turned up all the time, so by the end it was quite crowded. Anyway, I had a very nice time.

Last weekend, I had to go to Shizuoka to help manage a very large teachers` conference. It was for around 1,800 language teachers from around the world. I had to schedule and manage around 80 student helpers from Tokai, Shizuoka Prefectural, and other universities. It was a lot of work but I enjoyed it.

Anyway, because it was my birthday, my family came up to join me and it was nice because I was also in charge of the tea and coffee stand. So we spent a lot of time there. They had a large area outside with international food… Swedish, Australian, Mexican, and many others. And my English tea too. It rained a little but we were in tents, so it was no problem.

Although it was a working time, it was one of my best birthdays for a long time because there were so many friends around. I had a really great time!