Samhain! Is it CHRISTIAN or the OG of HALLOWEEN? with PAGAN specialist Dr Jenny Uzzell Artwork

Opening Ceremony Podcast with Jess May

Podcast blurb

Welcome to ‘Opening Ceremony Podcast’ with me, your host, Jess May.

I'm on a mission to keep ceremonies alive! Join me to hear all about why!

In the UK people are giving up on ceremony and I believe it is making us sick.

I don’t want that for you and that is why we’re here.

Ceremonies remind you that you belong here, you’re precious and you’re never alone.

I hope that this podcast will do that too.

On my podcast we connect with Academics, Professionals, colleagues, friends & clients share their life events, passions, careers and the ceremonies associated with them.

Ceremonies hold power to create meaning and are a vital source of connection and belonging for human beings.

As cultures evolve, ceremonies do too, how we approach that shift matters, because even as they disappear and change shape, they continue to hold power for both good and bad.

I want to empower you to create ceremonies which honour your values and remind you that you and yours belong in this world.

Good ceremonies tell your own story and help you to find your own meaning by reflecting who you are, healing you and showing you how much you matter.

But they can also be used in damaging ways.

If you don’t claim that power and choose your own way of celebrating your life and telling your story, someone else will do it for you.

Even as they fall from fashion, they will continue to matter to us societally, historically, personally & culturally.

There is never a time in human history where people don’t use them somewhere in the world for myriad reasons.

Focusing on ceremony shows us the interconnected multitude of human lives throughout history and across cultures. Ceremonies help us to hear those voices, their differences and similarities and understand the world-views behind the ceremonies they create.

Jess May is an Award Winning Celebrant who started her career in 2013 creating hundreds of life changing ceremonies for every occasion.

Join the Opening Ceremony constellation to learn more about why ceremonies still play a central part in human and animal societies.

All Episodes

Opening Ceremony Podcast with Jess May

Samhain! Is it CHRISTIAN or the OG of HALLOWEEN? with PAGAN specialist Dr Jenny Uzzell

October 29, 2025 • Jessica May • Season 2 • Episode 1

HERE'S ONE FOR HALLOWEEN

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Dr Jennifer Uzzell is a freelance researcher and academic in the field of Pagan Studies and Death and Bereavement Studies. Her doctorate, from the Centre for Death and Life Studies at Durham University looks at the ritualisation of Death among modern British Druids. Jenny is a member of a number of Druid Orders and is the Education and Youth Manager for the Pagan Federation. She is also an Educational Consultant in the field of Religious Education. She is co-owner of a progressive funeral home in the North East of England.

I had the enormous privilege of chatting with Dr Jenny all things Sahmain and addressing my ignorance around Paganism!

Join us!

Find Dr Jenny here:

https://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/speakers/jenniferuzzell/

https://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/persons/jennifer-uzzell/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQrvnU68zTQ

https://www.saintandforster.co.uk/about/

THANKS FOR KIRSOP MEDIA for editing expertise

https://kirsopmedia.com/

ALEX MAC CREATION for designs

https://alexmaccreation.co.uk/

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