Halloween

Paige shows off her Unicorn costume.

Halloween in Canada was definitely an eye opener for the uninitiated. We had an idea that it would be a fun event from the build-up to the day at the end of October, but I certainly didn't expect the extent of celebrations that it brought.



Paige and Megan in Unicorn costumes.

 

Ash in his Grim Reaper costume.



The kids had been getting excited for weeks leading up to the day (or more accurately the evening) and I saw it as a kids event - but I was wrong. We spent the day touring the Sleeping Giant with my parents before heading to a friends place in a more 'up-market' area of Thunder Bay. The reasoning was two-fold; 1. the people in the area are ore affluent and likely to spoil the trick or treaters and 2. many in the area are older with grown children and so like to spoil kids even more! This reasoning proved true on both counts, with Ash Megan and Paige gathering more lollies and chips than they have seen in their entire lives. The whole family has been living off a poor supplemented diet of lollies and chips for nearly a month now and it shows no signs of stopping soon.

The real surprise for me was the way in which Halloween created a sense of community spirit. Adults walking in costume with their costumed children around the streets, kids calling trick or treat and people in their decorated homes enjoying giving out treats by the handful to strangers. This part of the evening had that whole "community loving" and good spirit that I would associate with Christmas, it had a feelgood atmosphere.

To top the night, Jill drove everybody to a 'Haunted House' that had been created in the suburbs of Thunder Bay - another traditional part of Halloween. Here we saw the usual spooky displays, but there were also people dressed in character and moving among the "guests". Our favourite part of the house: a siren sounds and from the rear of the house a costumed mad man rushes out, chasing anyone who screams, with a chainsaw! Apparently this house has been setup in this way for the past 20 years and it is only one of many such houses created in the area.
The whole occasion has made ME rethink my attitude about Halloween. In the past i have pooh-poohed the idea as a North American money spinner - now I see it as a genuine opportunity for kids and adults alike to enjoy community spirit and a party atmosphere - almost a practise Christmas. And so with the demise of Guy Faulks and the traditions of cracker night, I intend to have Halloween parties in our Haunted House in the future. The prerequisites? Everyone MUST dress up.