holidays

Halloween: England’s strange and ancient winter rituals 

by

There is more to the “dark season” than Halloween, as these traditional English rituals show.

There are men who carry flaming barrels of tar through a Devon village, folk who pour cider over apple tree roots and cross-dressing troupes who perform something called Soul Caking to ward off evil spirits.

There is also a village in Somerset called Hinton St George which has a tradition of pumpkin carving and night-time walks that sounds remarkably similar to the Halloween rituals we all know. [ . . . ]

Read More at: Halloween: England’s strange and ancient winter rituals – BBC News

Is it just me? I thought Love Actually was rubbish

by

The top five Christmas movies to boost your festive spirit

We get it, Christmas can be stressful. Even the most organized of people can feel overwhelmed – and when your to-do list is longer than your arm, it can be difficult to get into the Christmas spirit. The solution? You need a night at home, glass of mulled wine in hand, and a Christmas movie on the TV…Despite the fact that British film Love Actually was never really supposed to be a Christmas movie (find out more about that here), it’s become tradition to watch it every time December rolls around (or November, depending on how festive you’re feeling). Featuring eight or nine subplots, a brilliant soundtrack and a host of respected actors, the pressure of a big budget means it could easily have been a disaster. Instead, it turned out to be 136 minutes of uplifting, heart-warming soppiness. We love it.

Is it just me? I thought Love Actually sucked. What do you think?

Read the fully story: The top five Christmas movies to boost your festive spirit