Halloween treats

It’s Hallowe’en,
The lamp is lit,
Around the fire
We children sit,
Telling ghost stories
Bit by bit,
‘Til somebody says “Shhhhhhh!”
What’s that a-peeping
‘Round the kitchen door?
What’s that a-creeping
‘Cross the bedroom floor?
What’s that a-sweeping
Down the corridor?
Oooooh! It’s a ghost!

The words above are to a song that we used to sing as young children around Halloween.   I love Halloween and to this day, I still decorate our front yard with lights and silly Halloween decorations to commemorate the occasion.  Some years, I even go so far as to dress up to hand out candy to the neighbourhood children. 

My British friends and co-workers could never really understand my love for Halloween, I am sure.  I described it to many of them as “as much fun as Christmas without the expense and stress”. 

When we first moved to England, we lived in the small village of Thorpe Waterville, along the A605 between Thrapston and Oundle.  Our kids were 8, 12 and 14 respectively.  It is a difficult thing to move to a different country and to try to merge your customs and culture with theirs.  Halloween is acknowledged in the UK, but with some reluctance, and as Bonfire Night – the celebration of the execution of Guy Fawkes – is celebrated on the 5th of November, I suppose it is understandable that their focus isn’t on Halloween.

My son, being the youngest, was suffering the most from culture shock I think.  When we’d packed our container to ship it to England, he could not understand why he wasn’t allowed to include the toboggan, and when Halloween rolled around, he still wanted to go trick-or-treating.  Reasonable pumpkins were impossible to find and we had to settle for pre-carved Halloween turnips purchased from the local Coop store.  Then, as per the usual North American routine, we figured out costumes for the children, and sent them off into the darkness with my husband, to experience their first British Halloween.

Of the few houses that did open their doors to my children that night, most of their occupants were dumbstruck by the idea of children trick-or-treating in Thorpe Waterville.  A couple of places sent them away empty-handed, one or two places gave them pound coins, and one house gave them an entire large package of biscuits (cookies) and told them not to come back next year! 

Shortly after Halloween, we moved into a home we had purchased in Oundle, and every Halloween after that while we lived in the UK, we went over the top by British standards and decorated our small front garden for the occasion.  Because we lived on a dead end street and there were few trick-or-treaters prowling about the neighbourhood, my son would often go out and direct children to our house.  Some years the kids would take turns sitting in a lawn chair in the front garden covered in a sheet and holding the candy dish heaped with goodies.  If young children approached, they would sit still or talk to the children and tell them to take candy, but when annoying teenagers approached, they would stay still until their hands were just about to scoop out a fistful of candy, and then whoever was under the sheet would move quickly to startle them.

While the British don’t really celebrate Halloween, they are known for their ghosts.  As a Halloween treat, I’ve included a couple of videos.  Happy Halloween!