AS I'VE often said Bonfire Night is a festival that reaches way back beyond Guy Fawkes. The church conned the public and turned an ancient pagan festival into a celebration of the execution of an unlucky papist.

But pagan tradition is deeply rooted in our folk consciousness. Superstition is still rife, ranging from magic acorns to wishbones. What upset the church, though, was the popularity of the pagan festivals. This was regarded as dangerous to the Christian status quo.

The clergy couldn't stamp them out. So they borrowed a few, disguised them as something else and recycled them. The priests were very good at that. Samhain, the Beltane Fires, and other events acknowledging the revitalising of the Sun God, were obvious public attractions in the old days.

And there were also strong links with the cult of the dead. After all, November is usually a damp, dark and windy time of year. And to our ancestors it had to be the peak period for demon and spirit activity.

The vast majority of the people were the poor, while the priests lived like lords in big houses on their estates which gave them everything. No wonder the working class occupied a world dominated by the imagination and the crafty deception of the well-off.

Understandably they were ritual-bound, and living through their instincts made them suckers for mythology. But they have handed down some colourful fairy stories.

My Irish gran never believed in evil spirits, witches, warlocks, and similar weirdos. A lot of pagans were good people so the clergy gave them bad names, and continued to exploit the poor.

Anyway, on November 5 I'm happy with the Guy Fawkes celebration. But our attitudes to ancient superstitions vary. Some people attack them, others treat them as a bit of harmless fun. And I believe the cheeky, non-offensive ones provide an opportunity to take the mickey out of the po-faced side of religion and the Grim Reaper.

The darkness within our species is real enough. It becomes apparent when we trample on a fellow member of the human race, or put a wild creature on the endangered list.

But Bonfire Night should be Fun Night. And I don't want to see some of the brighter festive links with the fantasies of our ancestors snuffed out.

We won't let the politically correct zombies make Father Christmas redundant or re-create him as the Christmas Person. And we will continue to avoid walking under ladders. No, I'm not superstitious — touch wood!

Whenever 'trick or treat' gets out of hand the neighbourhood should let the local children know it.

So, may your bonfire blaze brightly. But only after you have carefully checked it for hibernating hedgehogs. And don't forget to keep pets indoors while the fireworks are going off.

Enjoy the festival with a clear conscience — and a jar or two of the blond beer, your favourite wine, or the firewater.