trick or treat!!

Happy Halloween!!!

I love Halloween! It's one of my favorite holidays. This picture shows all the magic of Halloween so well. The sun is about to set (which is the time you go out to trick or treat), the glorious pumpkin (which I LOVE to cut out and only wish they sold pumpkins here in Bahrain!!!!) with its eyes and mouth lit up by candles, the cross from the graveyard and then the trick or treaters. :)

Aaaaahhh, the memories from my childhood. I so looked forward to dressing up and going out to all the neighborhoods to get candy and other treats. My mom used to make our costumes sometimes and I can remember how fun it was trying to decide what we'd be that year. I can remember dressing up as the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz and going to a party w/ my sister and niece and nephew, who dressed up as the other characters of the movie - that was a lot of fun. I've been a witch, a hobo, a Raggety Ann doll w/ the red knit wig my mom made and everything, and just so many other things.

Trick or treating was always a blast. My step-dad would take us around to all the neighborhoods and you'd not only get to see your friends and all the great customes of the other children, but you'd also get to go to some scary houses that were decorated to the hilt. I can remember being afraid to go up to some houses because they'd have witches on their porch or zombies and such, and sometimes the adults would dress up and scare the children. This is something my mom LOVES to do. I find it funny now, but as a child, it scares you to death!!! ;)

My aunt had this huge Halloween party at her house when I was a young girl. All my cousins went, friends and such. There was food, cake, candy and ppl dressed up like goblins, ghosts, zombies, just all kinds of creatures. Well, during this party, they'd start playing scary music and when that happened, all of us kids would have to find a place to hide because that's when all the monsters came out from hiding and tried to get us. Yeah, they had a pretty warped sense of fun and it scared the hell out of us kids, but the memories from this will last me a life time. I can remember hiding w/ my cousins under the dining table and ghosts would come and lift it up and try to get us. We'd hide behind pieces of furniture and they'd always find us. Once I sat on my older sister's lap, trying to keep them from getting me and one ghost came up and started pulling me from her lap. Well, I went into hysterics... complete and utter hysterics. Come to find out, the ghost was my MOTHER!!!!!! Can you believe it. I laugh now but gosh, it really scared me then. All the ghosts and monsters that night were our parents and friends of theirs. They loved to scare us as children... no wonder I hate horror movies as an adult!! ;)

I also LOVED going to haunted houses. Ohhhhh, how I loved that -yeah, there was something wrong w/ me!! I can remember the first one I went to. I guess I was in about the 4th grade, I think. We went w/ my girl scout troop. My older sister was one of the leaders so I stood by her all the way through. I was terrified, let me tell ya. At one spot in the house, it was a VERY narrow passageway and when you started walking down it, the wall in front of you slid up and there was this werewolf behind this gate that would try to grab you w/ his long claws. I got so afraid at the sight of this that I started screaming and couldn't stop. I couldn't move past him either. I was dead in my tracks... so afraid that he'd grab me. Finally, they pushed me through and one guy took off his mask so that I wouldn't be afraid and so that they could get me outta there. ;) Yeah, I was a scaredy cat... but I couldn't help it. It was the scariest thing... and... looking back, I loved it!!! I've gone to lots of haunted houses since then but nothing compares to that one.

Altho, once as an adult, I went w/ some friends to a huge haunted houses in Dallas and once you got inside, everything was black, except for lights that would come on and lead the way. So most of the time you spent behind the person in front of you trying to find your way thru the maze inside. At one point, I entered this huge room that had strobe lights. They were going on and off and you couldn't really see anything, but I remember this mummy or a dracula coming up from behind me and I started screaming and trying to run from it. That was pretty crazy.... and it was great in that it got my blood pumping fast that night which is always a fun thing when you're in these places. I miss this so much.

This is the hard thing about being away from the States. Times like these. I miss all the holidays so much. In Bahrain and maybe the other countries around here, they don't really celebrate much except for Eid. Young children get excited about Eid because they're getting money, but that's about it. Most of the things that ppl celebrate here is death. Not like Halloween but the death of certain ppl, so there's a lot of mourning going on... which can be rather depressing. To me, ppl like to be depressed here. I don't like it.

I wonder what it would be like if they started celebrating holidays like in the States. I know the children would love it and maybe even the adults. Adults don't do much here in terms of celebrations... except for weddings. Once you reach adulthood, there isn't much for you. You don't get presents usually for your birthday, you don't get presents or money at Eid.... there is no Halloween, no Easter, no tooth fairy, no Thanksgiving, no Christmas... so no candy and no presents. :(

But I have the memories that will forever live on inside of me. I can think about it and remember it like it was yesterday. Don't get me wrong, there are Halloween parties here. Certain clubs throw adult oriented parties, and last weekend the Ritz Carlton had a big shabang for children and adults where ppl dressed up. A friend of mine told me that in certain areas here in Bahrain you can even take your child trick or treating. I haven't seen this but I'm assuming it's in the American or British areas. I know that stores sell Halloween costumes. Last weekend I was at Geant and I saw lots of Bahraini kids at the area where the costumes were. I felt sad somewhat in that they don't have the joy of truly experiencing the joys of Halloween. Yeah, maybe some of their parents take them out... maybe that's why they were getting the things... but I had the feeling that they were just excited to see the masks, the swords, the fake vampire teeth and such.

Anyway.... Happy Halloween everyone. For all of you in the States and in the UK, I hope you guys have a glorious time, and if you have children, I hope they have a blast going out and trick or treating!!!!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO