Bell-Ringing Causes Concern at Samhain
Saturday October 18, 2008
This is an interesting story out of the UK. Apparently, the small town of Bungay had a custom, back in medieval days, of ringing the St. Mary's church bells at Samhain to drive away evil spirits. In fact, this went on until the time of the Reformation, when it was banned. Now, some Bungay folks would like to have the bells rung again this year on October 31, but a local group of church elders is opposed to the idea, saying that it's a Pagan practice, and that the Church of England shouldn't participate.
Diocese spokesman Nick Clarke said: “Organisers were told that Churches Together in Bungay has strong objections to the bells being rung for what is essentially a pagan festival, not a Christian one.”
The annual Bungay Pumpkin Night typically draws in about three thousand people. Martin Evans of the group Friends of St Mary's Church, said: “It would be very nice thing for a medieval town like Bungay to follow some of the medieval traditions... So much of Christianity comes from early pagan ceremonies. The Church of England says it wants to try to dispel the American-style attitude to Halloween, and by ringing the bells on what is also a saints' festival we thought that really supported the idea.”
No final decision has been made yet on the ringing of the bells.
Edited 10/31/08: A reader updates us that the bells will indeed be rung tonight!
Diocese spokesman Nick Clarke said: “Organisers were told that Churches Together in Bungay has strong objections to the bells being rung for what is essentially a pagan festival, not a Christian one.”
The annual Bungay Pumpkin Night typically draws in about three thousand people. Martin Evans of the group Friends of St Mary's Church, said: “It would be very nice thing for a medieval town like Bungay to follow some of the medieval traditions... So much of Christianity comes from early pagan ceremonies. The Church of England says it wants to try to dispel the American-style attitude to Halloween, and by ringing the bells on what is also a saints' festival we thought that really supported the idea.”
No final decision has been made yet on the ringing of the bells.
Edited 10/31/08: A reader updates us that the bells will indeed be rung tonight!
Comments
Excuse me but I’m confused….if it’s Pagan to ring a redundant (it’s no longer being used as a church) Christian church’s bells why is it okay to line the streets with pumpkins? I guess bringing in tourist dollars trumps all.
I say ring the bell!
Good Lord and Lady! And I suppose these are the same Church elders who have no qualms over ringing bells on Christmas day and Easter sunday…both Pagan festivals themselves!
Ring the damn bell and revive local history!
Ding Dong! People are funny.
Decca Gaeafgwyrdd, You gave me a very wonderful laugh at the ironic hypocracy of your comment. Thank you! And thank you Patti for keeping us posted on Pagan News from around the world; it helps me feel more… united… less alone.
-Rafe
Just an update on this matter – bells ARE going to be rung tonight (31 Oct) in the TOWN of Bungay.
Don, thanks for updating us! And I didn’t realize Bungay was a town rather than a village, so I’ll go and correct the blog entry to reflect that