An Early Halloween

With the gorgeous harvest moon glimmering over the world right now, perhaps it seems appropriate that we went to an early Halloween Party Friday night.  Swedes have imported Halloween from the US, unfortunately at times, much of what is icky about the holiday, but they love an excuse to dress up in costumes just like the rest of us.  Trick or Treating is strictly taboo however as it is culturally completely inappropriate to walk up to a stranger's door, ring the bell and then ask for something!  Come to think of it, that sounds pretty weird in any place, but for some reason in the US we've said, yes it's weird, but on the 31st of October we're going to do it anyway!  Alas, I digress.
No matter how long you've lived somewhere else, I think for most foreigners, there a place in your psyche that wants to do things that resonate with your homeland.  So every year in October Americans get a little hankering for dressing up and eating sweets!  So when The American Women's Club announced that they would be having a party this year, we said, "Let's Go!" 
We decided to go as animals...Doug a lion and me a monkey.  We had the monkey suit from our Children's program at church two summers ago and some good friends casually mentioned their lion suit.  Turns out the Lion suit was an exact replica of the Lion from the Wizard of Oz and Doug looked just like Bert Lahr! He wore shades to try to seem less cowardly! And his cowardly lion imitation is priceless!  Doug helped me put on a good monkey face and we were ready to party!  Some friends had invited us to their place beforehand and they live about a 10 minute walk from us.  So off we went, the lion and the monkey walking down the street through central Stockholm.  True to form, the Swedes did not flinch.  No eye contact, no giggle, nothing...seriously?  C'mon, two adults dressed like wild animals were strolling down your street on a Friday evening.  I expected at least a little chuckle or a nod with a smile from someone.  Once safely in the confines of Peggy and Magnus' apartment, we got a good laugh out of their get up.  Peggy looked amazing as the Black Swan, complete with red eyes.  Magnus was a good counterpart, the White Trash Swan, complete with white tutu and blonde wig! 
Peggy's one of my tennis buddies.  I wonder if we look this fierce on the court.  She should definitely wear those red lenses sometime!. 
We took a taxi to the party spot just to avoid too much excitement on the subway!
A good time was had by all.  Peggy won for best costume and we won a prize but we are not sure for what...I think most crazy twosome or something like that!  Our tails were a big hit and we had fun dancing around like fools.  Here's Doug, the cool cat that he is, holding his tail, making sure no one stepped on it! The only down side of the evening was that during a rousing game of musical chairs, my monkey foot slipped and I cracked my knee on the concrete floor.  Ouch.  Skinned knee and achy body to prove it this morning!
     But it was a good time of cutting lose, seeing what everyone wore, eating some sweet treats and just enjoying a good laugh with good friends.  So Happy Halloween to you all, even though you have to wait a couple of weeks for the fullness of the holiday!

Halloween and All Saints' Day

Halloween is not the same deal here in Sweden as is it in America. It has imported some of the stuff, mostly the scary and ghoulish stuff and most Swedes think of Halloween as a season as opposed to a day, so Halloween decorations and parties will continue to happen beyond today. I find it annoying as Halloween is not my favorite thing. I'm all for the dressing up, the fun parties and the trick or treating. But Halloween has been corrupted to do harm to children in so many ways that it's just hard to get excited about that. And it's interesting, when it's not swirling around you in every store, the tendency is just to simply forget about it.
I will say however that I do miss being able to see children in their costumes. I would love to have some sweet ones stop by tonight and ask for a piece of candy. I love dressing up in costumes and think it's a really fun part of the tradition.
Here in Sweden, the tradition of this weekend is actually to acknowledge All Saints' Day, which is tomorrow, November 1. Halloween is actually All Saints' Eve and the connections to the dead are how many of the bizarre and scary Halloween activities got started in the first place. But here in Sweden, people use today to reflect upon loved ones who have passed on. They go the cemetery and leave candles and wreaths and remember. By late afternoon it is quite beautiful as dusk sets in and candles flicker across the yards. I myself have never been one to visit the cemetery on this day and since I'm not feeling so hot and since we have an event at church later, it is unlikely that today will be my day to do so.
So today I am enjoying the posts of my friends' children on Facebook in their costumes, chuckling at how much candy they will haul in tonight, wondering if they are like me, who hoarded my candy and parceled it out over several weeks, or more like my brother, who pretty much ate it all as soon as he could and then tried to steal more from me! And I'm also thinking about those who died in the past year and what a significant day of grief and remembering this is for the many who lost beloved friends and family in the past year.