Trick or Treat?

Halloween is coming to town sooner than we already know. On October 31st, the equivalent of Carnival in Greece, is been celebrated every year during the last weekend or so throughout the United States and Western Europe.



Once celebrated as a catholic custom, it was dedicated to the "All Saints" who were thought at the time of the Middle Ages that had left the earth and would come back and haunt humans in order to possess their bodies. So the horrified believers would dress up in scary outfits and decorate their houses accordingly in order to avoid been visited by such creatures on All Saints Day.

The phrase of "Trick or Treat?" is relevant to the attitude the believers followed ever since.



I remember back in 1998 I was visiting a dear friend of mine in the rural area of Wisconsin, USA. Sue and I had the chance of spending Halloween together that year in her area. Along with her kids, we drove to a nearby "Haunted House" that was decorated in the mood for horror! I can well remember that all the impersonators that were the creepy costumes were deliberately scared the hell out of people in order to make them become scared. Many in the crowd that came inside, had quite a good time, but if you ask me, I'd say very bluntly that I almost piss my pants from the shock I encountered there! Oh my Goodness, I felt as if I was taking part in a nightmare come true!!!

I guess my mentality was so out of the whole atmosphere. Being Greek, celebrating Carnival is a whole lotta different way of acting out, but there was hell on earth, I'm telling you!

The following day Sue's kids dressed up in costumes and so did I and together we went for a trick or treat session around the neighbourhood. I still have the pumpkin basket we used to carry in order to put inside all the junk food people would give us for a treat! Needless to say how much I enjoyed the decorations of the houses, especially when they looked really creepy and ghostly!



I am often thinking that if we had the opportunity to celebrate such insidents as the Halloween or the Thanksgiving here in Greece, this would be a very good change of scenery for all of us in Greece, where there's no relative customs whatsoever!

For all of you out there who will indeed have a good time on Halloween, trick or treat for my sake as well! As a closing line I choose one of the Haunted House creatures: "Where are you? I can see yoooooou...!"

Link: The History and Customs of Halloween

Gift: Cat Bowling and enjoy playing the game!

Marialena, 27/10/2006 (just before Greece's National Holiday, in the mood for Haloween) Have a nice weekend!