Day 44
I love Halloween. I always have. When I was young, you couldn’t find already-made costumes (or my parents didn’t buy me any), so I always got dressed as a magician. My brother had a magic set. Along with it came a magician hat and cape. Every Halloween, I would dust it out and put the costume on. My cousin did the Halloween run with me. He always got dressed as an Arab, only using a white sheet and some sort of rope he tied around his head.
We each had our Halloween outfit. Year after year, we would be the magician and Arab walking down the street together going to the same houses, with the same costume, only a year older. Some of our little neighbors had moms who would sow them a new costume each year; they would give out goodie bags; they would have elaborate decorations.
Our parents were Egyptians. Halloween was not part of our tradition. So, although they bought stuff to give out to the kids (mostly peanuts and caramel), there was no extra time spent on organizing anything for that day.
We didn’t care, though. Really, all we wanted was to go out from door to door and get goody after goody! After I would get back home, I would empty my bag on my bed and marvel at my treasures… I never got an apple; I would have thrown it out anyway because in case there would be razor blade hidden in it!! (What a great urban legend!) Chocolate bars, chips and chewing gum were my favorite treats. I would eat my candy slowly, a little bit at a time, making my brothers jealous in the spring, when they would discover I still had some of my loot!
Today, I still love celebrating Halloween. Every Halloween, my husband and I dress up as Hippies. We wear the same outfit every year… I guess things haven’t changed that much. My children choose a new costume each year. Unfortunately, I am not the crafty type who could create a coca-cola bottle or a popcorn bag with recycled material, so we go to the local store and choose already-made costumes. I wish I was able to create my kids' costumes, I could save a lot of money!
Throughout the years, although it has become more commercial, the spirit of Halloween hasn't changed much. My children have the same sparkly eyes I had on Halloween night. They don’t walk door to door, they run! And after we return home, we all look at their treats with delightful joy and start talking about the following year’s costumes! And that is exactly what we did last night!
Happy Halloween
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