Poppies

I don't know what it is about this time of year, but there are a combination of contraversial events that happen around now. So I thought I might address them.

The first two have a transatlantic divide, although I think it is fair to say that this division is not rigid. There are people on both sides with all views, but it serves as a convenient shorthand.

Firstly, we have Halloween. In the UK, many Christian groups are strongly opposed to this, because it is a celebration of evil, of the whole gamut of the demonic. This has some truth behind it - the origins of "All Hallows Eve" are in the ascendency of the evil, as their "last stand" before All Saints Day, and they are defeated. To be honest, in the way it is celebrated in the UK, it tends to be rather focussing on the evil side of this.

In the US, it is treated as a time of fun and play, and some Americans find the horror in the UK at this event to be rather over the top. Personally, I find it a rather disturbing time, not necessarily because of the overtones, but because of the darkening nights, the shorter days, the oppressive season, and this is emphasised in the Halloween celebrations.

Just a few days after that, in the UK we have Bonfire night. And some of the US response here comes as "What! You are celebrating burning a Catholic? How grotesque". Which is also true, but it is a distinctly British celebration. It is a gruesome celebration, but very few people actually treat it as an anti-catholic celebration. And, of course, the real origins are in Samhain, the Celtic pagan celebration of the end of harvest, and the start of Winter.

This is also linked in with Halloween, of course, and we end up with some distinct celebrations with close connections, and some strange additional baggage. But at core, we are declaring that the Summer, the growing season is at an end, and the Winter is arriving. We are accepting that life has its cycles, life and death, birth and growth and ending. That is what we celebrate.

And then, shortly after, we have Remembrance day and Remembrance Sunday. Maybe the timing of this is not co-incidental, that the time we celebrate life and death, we also celebrate the ending of the war. But this year, more than any other year, I have seen a number of people questioning whether the poppy celebrations are a glorification of war, rather than a call for peace. It is a difficult balance, and I have always struggled with it, and don't like Remembrance services.

Of course, nobody would admit to glorifying war. the problem is that the way Remembrance is done - and other aspects of the work of the armed services - can be seen to be raising soldiers to being saints. Any suggestion of criticising them is treated with shock, because these people put their lives on the line - and many die - for "our country". The BBC insists (I gather) that their presenters are all wearing poppies through the season. It is true that the military do go into difficult and dangerous places, and do important work that often risks and takes their lives. What is more, historically, the two world wars cost a huge number of lives. Many of them wasted by stupidity, I should point out.

I am aware of the white "peace" poppies, and have considered getting one at times. However, they are often rather aggressive (oddly enough), and I have no desire to offend or upset people for whom Remembrance is significant, and a part of their healing process. In the end, maybe we should look at an "ending" - a focus on the fact that war is crap, killing and dying is bad, and we should work towards ending war and fighting. That needs a radical change in the attitudes from the top, a change to say we should talk, we should accept difference. This needs to apply globally, that everyone - whatever their faith, belief or principles of leadership - should work for peace in their countries, and across the world.

How? I don't have those sort of answers, but an attitude change to say "live and let live", rather than "If we don't like them, lets threaten". There needs to be a very radical change to everyones approach, that does not support a "macho" sabre-rattling approach to diplomacy, to seeking for a secure world. That should be the message for Remembrance. This year and always.