Last night we went Trick or Treating.
For most of you this won't be a big deal, but it occurred to me that it was my first time celebrating Halloween in this fashion.
Why? Well, for a start when I was a kid it wasn't heard of in Britain. Instead I would go with my friends to the local haunted castle so we could scare ourselves silly. Rhiannon was too little when we lived in the UK. And in Tokyo it was an arranged trip around a small, enclosed residential area where all the homeowners played along. So this was the first time we've done 'wild' Trick or Treating. It was fun!
Just before we left, Rhiannon handed me her black lipstick with the words, "This is the last time I will happily let you come out with the same make up on as me." Hah!
We headed over to a friend's house to meet up with other families. There were a couple of skeletons, a flock of vampires and a tiny devil with flashing red horns and a pink Hello Kitty lantern. Scary!
As usual, it didn't take Rhiannon long to make new friends (the other kids go to a different school) and she was soon zooming around with the pack, cape flying out behind her. (Incidentally, she was supposed to go as a vampire but lost her teeth! So she was a gorgeous Goth instead. With a cape.)
The noise and hyperactivity produced by free sweets and the heady freedom to roam the dark streets relatively adult-free was something to behold.
While Halloween isn't celebrated here as much as it is in the States, a few homes entered into the spirit by displaying pumpkin lanterns. Some also had cobwebs draped over bushes and, very occasionally the full works including skeletons hanging from trees and wailing ghouls on the door.
I had wondered how Trick or Treating would work here. Most of the houses have security gates which need to be opened from inside. It's quite a palaver. And, I should think, rather worrying if the homeowners can't see who's at the gate.
What happened was this: the troop of children raced along the pavement to a house. The first one there would ring the bell on the gate and scream to the others to "Hurry UP!" Then a running commentary at full volume ensued, "There's someone there! I can see them! They're coming down the stairs! They're opening the door NOW!"
When the hapless homeowner peered out they were greeted by a cacophony of "Trick or Treat!", sometimes in English and sometimes the German version. I never did work out what that was though. One lady made them sing a song too.
Sometimes the owner came to the gate with a basket of goodies. More often though, the gate was clicked open from inside and then the kids hurtled up the path, cheering at the tops of their voices. Sweets were handed out and, after a quick "Danke", the pack would scream along to the next house. The single but ubiquitous apple was swiftly hidden from view and somewhere along the line one child received a packet of instant noodles.
Once, we couldn't keep up with them and arrived just as they gained entry into an apartment block. They'd done this by pressing every single buzzer on the panel. It was very tempting to disown the entire group at this point. We watched in slightly amused horror as they went pelting up the stairs inside the building. Luckily, it wasn't long before they returned triumphant with more sweets.
After that, we reminded them to only visit single homes with decorations up. It was quite exhausting and we called a halt at 7.30pm.
I think this may be the last year we do Trick or Treat; Rhiannon was the oldest in the group and I think she felt a bit awkward about that. It didn't dampen her spirits though.
And the sweet haul was spectacular, a carrier bag almost full to the brim. She kindly allowed me to share some.