Growing up in America, Halloween meant very much to me. I have fond memories as a child of going trick-or-treating with friends and carving out pumpkins to make Jack-o-lanterns. But the best thing was getting that huge sack of candy after trolling around the neighbourhood all night! Even as I grew older, I might have not gone from house to house asking for candy, but I did dress up and go to parties. I suppose what I’m trying to convey is, Halloween was a big thing for me in America.
Here in the UK, I feel Halloween has lost a bit of its allure. Or maybe that’s not it; maybe it’s just a different atmosphere here. I don’t mind if I don’t go out here on October 31st; as a child, that stance would be unthinkable! I do remember one Halloween from my youth that I did miss though. I must have been around seven years of age. My mother had helped me with acquiring a camouflage G.I. Joe costume, it was makeshift, but I was happy with it. Much to my dismay, I had come down with a fever that late October afternoon. My mom said; “If the fever goes down Will, then you can go out.” Six o’clock went by, and I thought maybe I’d be okay by seven. Seven o’clock went by, I still had a fever, but I thought maybe I could still catch a few hours of trick-or-treating. We checked every hour, but I was still around 100 degrees, the fever never went down.
I remember being so sad I missed Halloween. I had my costume ready and everything. I was so jealous of my younger sister who got to go out around the neighbourhood for a few hours with my dad. It seemed so cruel for a seven year-old to miss Halloween. But that was then and this is now. The last time I was out for Halloween was in San Francisco in 2006; it was a memorable night. For some odd reason I didn’t mind missing the last two Halloweens, perhaps I’m getting old, or perhaps I am just content with my American Halloweens of years past.
Here are some pictures from Halloween in San Francisco in 2006; the last time I went 'out'.
No comments:
Post a Comment