Happy Halloween!!!

 Growing up as a child in South Africa, Halloween was never a big deal. I think I can remember only 2 years or so where we dressed up and went out trick or treating. Half the time, the neighbours didn't know what the concept of trick or treat was and often we resorted to catapulting stones or boiled streets at their windows (or pets) because they had given us tins of tomato paste for lack of any other treats in their larders. Let me state that there is no confusion about what trick or treating is in NY. America is the HOME of Halloween (well, the cheesy Hollywood version of it at least)
The tradition actually takes its origin from the Celtic pagan Festival of Samhain, which celebrates the end of the lighter half of the year and the beginning of the darker half of the year. It was believed that during this time the border between the "Otherworld" and earth became thinner and thus could provide ghosts and ghouls an opportunity to pass through. The need to ward off evil spirits resulted in people wearing "scary costumes" and thus Halloween was born (it should however be noted that instead of wearing scary costumes these days most American girls use Halloween as an excuse to look as smutty and slutty as possible. For example wearing a bikini and pair of vampire teeth) Interestingly, in traditional Celtic celebration, large turnips were hollowed out, carved with faces and put in windows to ward off evil spirits, in North America, the turnips were replaced with pumpkins because they were much more readily available and easier to carve out because they were much bigger. The lead up to Halloween and just the general atmosphere in the city in the fall is most exciting. There are pumpkins on every doorstep and in every window and every shop is selling Halloween paraphernalia and costumes. A list was sent around our apartment building asking us if we would be available to participate in T or T for the kids living in our building, we even had a special Halloween display erected in the reception and the spinning class I went to on Friday morning was a "Halloween special ride" where the lights were turned off and we were forced to wear glow in the dark arm bands while cardboard pumpkins dangled above our heads!! Steve and I erroneously did not take the festival day too seriously and it was only when on Oct 30th, that I decided to go and find us some costumes and was greeted by a 20 minute queue around the block, did I realise just what a big deal this Halloween business was. Like all buildings in NY, the costume shop did not look that big from the outside, but once I was in- I was totally overwhelmed by its 2 floors, specialized sections (dominatrix section, religious section, sci-fi section etc....) and its quirky staff wearing costumes ranging from KluKluxKlan members in g-strings and fishnet stockings to Bavarian beer maids with Pinocchio noses and witches hats. It was crazy. Greenwich village was transformed into a strictly pedestrian area and which provided the perfect setting for gawking at the the freaks in the Village Parade. The city was totally heaving, everyone with an excuse to be as festive as they liked. We marched in the rain to various house parties and finally ended up some horrible downstairs dungeon club thing- where we were ushered in by a bouncer dressed up as a totem pole and then served Grade A Rusky Wodka by a waitress in a Yogi bear suit. We walked home well after midnight (surprising for two oldies like us!) and the streets were still rammed with party-goers in all sorts of funky outfits. Needless to say, on Sunday morning NY was the quietest I have ever seen it. Not even the cab drivers had bothered to get out of bed. In fact, I am quite sure that the only crazy people awake were the 42 000 runners who were up at 4am to compete in the marathon..... aaahhh (and I hate to use the phrase) New York, the city that never sleeps.