Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat?!?

Last Friday was Halloween. It’s a tradition given as much attention here as Easter and almost Christmas are in Sweden. The students dressed up for school. They wore anything or everything, the only restriction was that no masks were allowed (the school made an exception with the hat policy for once) and for girls, the dresses could not be too short, whether anyone checked if this was complied with or not is another question. I choose to not wear my costume to school because I thought it was too short, but I’m sure I could have done it if I wanted to consider what everyone else was wearing. Andy, a friend of mine, asked me why I didn’t dress up. I told him about my tiny dress, but he said it wasn’t an accepted excuse for NOT wearing it, the smaller dress the bigger reason to wear it. He said that in general, everyone consider Halloween as their big opportunity to dress slutty and dirty. I was really surprised he said that, as if that’s everyone’s goal in life? The answer of my question was later confirmed when the “catwalk” started and anyone could show their costumes. The most extreme example was one boy, dressed only in a bathrobe and slippers, who walked up the catwalk, posing in front of all the students in school, supposed to be a pimp. Then these two girls, looking like playboy bunnies, came up to him and kissed him, one on each cheek.

The classes were also a little bit different that day, the schedule was changed. The two first periods were shortened, in ceramics we watched the beginning of The Nightmare Before Christmas (everything is made out of clay) and in Guitar we got cupcakes and red vines and watched Edward Scissor hand. After that it was time for the Catwalk out on campus, at the same time it was this event called “Club Luau” where every club had a chance to earn money by selling snacks, foods or drinks. I bought two delicious croissants from the French club for $3 each. This whole event lasted for 70 minutes and after that it was lunch for 30 minutes so the remaining four periods were also shorter than usually, but not as fun as the first two. No more movies or cupcakes, just ordinary classes.

After school I had soccer practice. The varsity team usually practice separately from the JV (Junior Varsity) but because of Halloween there were a lot of players missing (maybe they couldn’t get out of their tight costumes) so we practiced together.

At night it was time for me to put on my costume. A sailor costume I had got from a friend on my soccer team a while ago. I went to my friend Sarah’s house and had dinner with her, her boyfriend, her boyfriend’s best friend and Amanda. During dinner we were frequently interrupted by the door bell ringing. A lot of the younger kids start as soon as it’s getting dark to go out trick or treat. Sometimes their parents are making them company. Once when I opened the door a two years old Pirate said “trick or treat”, he was adorable. Anyone who wants irrespective of age can go out trick or treating. We went out after dinner and it turned out to be a success.

I remember me and my siblings going out on Trick or Treat in Sweden, once or twice, without such a triumph. First of all, my neighborhood isn’t the most optimal (my dad had to drives us from one house to another) and second of all, the families don’t expect anyone so they don’t have any candy to hand out. Here, the majority of all houses have decorated the front yard with spider web, big corpses, and lighted pumpkins and so on, and parents are sitting in the entrance prepared to give the kids candy (because there are so many that it’s a better idea to sit outside the entire time than opening the door each and every second). Sometimes there were so many kids at one house at the same time that a long line was formed.

After walking around in the neighborhood for more that an hour we were all tired and had got enough candy for a whole year forward. Josh came and picked me up; telling me they had ran out of candy at 8.30 p.m. which I thought was a bit amazing considering the great amount of candy they had bought. In families living in a poor neighborhood the parents often drives their kids to a wealthier or richer neighborhood where the chance for getting more candy is better, so Mary Sue and Josh (dressed like a shady Indiana Jones) had had a lot to do.

This is a fun tradition that I would like to “bring back” to Sweden. Even if it’s already introduced at home I want it to be as extensive as it is here. I’ve decided that next year at Halloween I will have a costume party for anyone interested. We’ll carve pumpkins, eat candy, watch a scary Halloween movie and have a good time. Remind me of this if I forget!

My Pumpkin!