This is Halloween! This is...Halloween?

Halloween in the Sasso household may actually eclipse Christmas in enthusiasm and importance.  We really get behind the holiday as a whole - it's our favorite! Of course, we knew that the rest of the world doesn't necessarily share our enthusiasm for the creepy and the candy - so we were curious to see what the celebrations would bring. 

Being that we are at the "American" school, there were plenty of fantastic events and parties, so we certainly weren't deprived!  The children had celebrations in their classrooms and were allowed to wear their costumes - Caroline was Hermione from Harry Potter, and Georgia was a Swan (yes, I admit the costume looks a little like a Vegas showgirl, but that's our Georgia - lots of flair).  The school also had a "Trick or Treat" night - since most areas in Dubai will not play host to trick or treating (somthing about witchcraft or demons being bad).  The parents all set up and decorated tables all around the school yard, and on the Friday before Halloween the kids "trick or treated" around the school.  This, it turns out, was a fantastic treat for our kids, as they collected all their goods, scarfed down a bunch of junk, and then spent the remainder of the event chasing their friends around the field like berserk monkeys.  We capped off the celebration on the actual day by Trick or Treating in an area called "The Meadows" - a beautiful development with a fair share of Expats, and therefore a more willingness to get behind this bizarre American phenomenon.  Here is G and some of her classmates:

And Caroline with her class.  Note the Harry Potter phenomenon - two Hermiones, two Harrys and one Voldemort.  And there are only 15 kids in the class:

But there were certainly things that were slighly off about this particular Halloween.  The holiday has found its way into into other cultures, but to varying degrees and with different interpretations.  So here you have it:

THE TOP 5 WAYS HALLOWEEN IS (MIS)UNDERSTOOD IN DUBAI:

1) Halloween should be VERY VERY scary.  As in, axe murderer, bloody decorations, Michael and Freddy scary.  Common costumes sold in the Carrefour (the previously mentioned hideous Wal-Mart/Swap Meet hybrid) included "Faceless Ghoul Murderer" and "Flesh Eating Crypt Keeper".  The mom who brought the "music" for the 2nd Grade party at school must have picked the Slasher Film Classics - so our cookie decorating was punctuated by blood curtling screams, squishy squealching stabbing sounds, and gurgling. Check out this method of handing out candy - it's tough to see but the fence sitter is actually wearing a zombie mask with pointed teeth.  But, since she/he had kit-kats, everyone was game:

2) Face Paint is required for all costumes, regardless of relevancy.  So, you'll see lots of blacked out eyes, bloody lips, white faces - sometimes painted on to kids wearing Princess or Policeman costumes.  Maybe they think everyone is supposed to have died a violent death and has returned to haunt and ask for candy? Hmmm...

3) Unwrapped Candy is perfectly acceptable.  Yep - you have a bag of gummy worms?  Some loose almonds? A few marshmallows?  Sure - go ahead and give them out to trick or treaters.  That's super sanitary.  Oh, and we did also hit someone handing out dixie cups of mystery juice.  Some selections:

4)You must go dressed as something related to "Halloween".  Exapmle: Our British friends showed up to our company party in full face paint (see above) - the family of four was dressed as a Pumpkin, Black Cat, Ghost, and Skeleton.  Even the little one year old (Harry) was completely covered in white face (ghost).  They were floored to find out you could actually dress up as WHATEVER YOU WANTED!  Although I did find it entertaining to see our friend Charles (who is usually quite dapper and Hugh Grant-ish) in full orange face paint with triangle eyes (pumpkin). 

5)Pumpkins can be any shape or size or color.  We ponied up our Dirhams at the school's pumpkin sale, only to find out that we were the recipients of something I would have identified as squash, or maybe a gourd.  I did find some "American" pumpkins (meaning they were actually orange, and somewhat round), and paid an extraordinary ransom for the privilidge.  It was worth it, though, to see our housekeeper Manni's reaction.  She brought it to me and asked "This is not real, no?  It's a toy?" I explained that indeed, that was a real pumpkin, and she could not get over it.  She kept caressing it and saying "So beautiful!".  I think it may still be in her room.  Here are the school's "pumpkins":

The end result?  Everyone had a fantastic Halloween!  And despite the fact that virtually no chocolate was handed out (given the 90 degree heat it is unwise), we called it a success!  Hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday!