Candy? Check. Pumpkin? Check. I’m all ready for Halloween. As a new immigrant to Canada 30-odd years ago, determined to “become Canadian,” I embraced this new and exotic celebration but didn’t always get it quite right.
Soon after arriving I was invited to attend a Halloween party. What fun! I looked in my closet to see what I could use as the basis for a costume and my eyes immediately fell on my traditional English duffel coat. Perfect. I would be Paddington Bear. But what I’d overlooked was that this classic British children’s story was almost unknown this side of the pond. I spent most of the evening explaining who I was to everyone I met.
You really would’ve thought I’d learn from this experience. But no, a few years later I did it again, this time dressing up as Noddy. “Are you an elf?” the children who came to the door asked. I was crushed. What kind of deprived upbringing had these poor Canadian children had?
When we moved to Azerbaijan, I was determined to share this important part of North American culture with the local students who visited me once a week to practice their conversational English. All went well as I described the dressing up, candy and pumpkins.
My mistake was to try and explain some of the ancient beliefs behind the celebration. As I started to talk about spirits rising and walking the earth I could see them eyeing each other nervously and shifting in their seats. What kind of voodoo was this crazy Kanadka promoting?
Despite my best efforts it seems I really haven’t MASTERED Halloween. How well have you adapted to celebrations in your new country?
Classic, Judy! And check you out in the Noddy costume! (I remember being very confused by the Paddington Bear and Noddy situation as a child in Canada; I knew and loved them thanks to my English/Irish immigrant parents, and I assumed everyone else did too. I soon learned otherwise.) For my own children, Hallowe’en in France was a big letdown. After convincing one of their friends to dress up and help them “shell out,” they had only two trick-or-traters all night. I ate a lot of candy over the next few days (to make them feel better, of course!)
Stocking up so you have plenty of leftover candy is an important Halloween tradition
Not too many trick-or-treaters in our neighbourhood either these days…. think all the kids are growing up and young families can’t afford to buy in. 