Halloween in China

So the last couple of years I have taken the kids around trick or treating, and Steph has manned the front door and given out candy. This year she called dibs on heading out with the girls and trick or treating, whilst I do the distribution of sugar.

I always complain that she has such better material for blogging than I do – and I expect tonight will be no different, but out first trick or treaters find themselves in my latest blog – I should have mentioned it to the mother… but actually I think that would have mortified her!

So first, I have to explain that Trick or Treating is a very American thing. The local Chinese don’t do it, the closest thing they have is what loosely translates to ‘The Ogre Festival’. ‘The Ogre Festival’ is a day that there are invisible ogres running around causing trouble. So the Chinese go home early, and all stay inside with red lanterns and incense burning outside to keep the ogres away. Pretty funny and cool if you ask me. This explanation came from Steph’s Chinese tutor Jessie. She’s the same one who saw our couple of decorations and asked if we were decorating for ‘The Evil Festival’. That cracked me up.

So the reason I say that Halloween is an American thing, is that even our new British friends (Emma and Graham) say that Halloween is not celebrated in the UK either. They were walking around their complex looking at all the Halloween decorations and Graham was saying ‘this is so American, I can’t believe we are walking around to look at this’.

So if you are in an Expat compound, there is trick or treating. The complex asks you to sign up if you are going to give out candy. Then everyone who wants one, can pick up a list at the clubhouse and ‘make the rounds’. I’ll provide you some of the funnier encounters, but the first one was classic.

The doorbell rings, so I grab the bucket of candy and answer the door. I look at the kids expectantly – there are 3 of them, probably between the ages of 4 ½ and 7. They don’t really say anything and the boy (probably age 5-6 just walks right into the apartment. While he’s walking in, his mom is saying ‘what do you guys… Oscar, get out here, what are you doing’. Then Oscar walks back out of the apartment, and she explains in her British accent, ‘we’ve never done this before, I am sorry’. She finishes her initial sentence which was ‘what do you guys say’, and they responded by looking at me and saying ‘trick or treat’. Of course in the middle of this ‘what do you say’ and response, the oldest – a girl, probably about age 7 – is digging into the bucket grabbing candy. So then the mother is telling this one ‘no, don’t do that, he’ll hand it to you’, so she puts the 3 pieces of candy back in the bucket (but doesn’t return the pieces she successfully snatched while her brother distracted everyone by walking into the apartment!). So as I am handing out 3 pieces of candy (choosing not to cut off the sneak who has some of my candy already in her bag) the boy says ‘no, I want that one’… the mother starts to say something like ‘you take what you are given’, but stops short almost giving up… I bail her out with a smile and say ‘it’s OK, no problem’. Then as they are waiting on the elevator, I hear the youngest say ‘why did we only get 1 piece’. To which the exasperated British mother looks at me pleadingly saying ‘I’m sorry, thank you so much’. Poor woman, I just smiled and say no problem, good luck’. It was all I could do not to laugh.

The next two-some to show up at the door are two American girls, probably 12 or 13 years old. They say ‘trick or treat’, and I put some candy in their bags, asking them how they are doing tonight. Both respond with ‘well we are too old to be doing this’. I tell them that I would still be trick or treating if I could get away with it, so keep it up. I think they might be expat kids just clinging to some piece of home… this maybe me reading too much into it, but that’s what it seemed like to me.

Then a couple of young asian girls with a weak attempt at costumes. It was funny since when I opened the door they both said in unison, in a very sing-songy asian accent ‘trick or treat’… it was in stereo. Then when I gave them candy, they said in a the same sing-song voices ‘thank you’ – again in perfect unison.

The next funny two-some was a couple of 10-12 year old boys, with NO attempt at costumes. They said ‘trick or treat’ which was nice, since they were obviously just cruising for free candy. They had me put the candy for both of them in one of the boys hats. I realized as I dropped the candy in that this was the only attempt at a costume – it was a witches hat, which they had to use for gathering candy as they had no bag between them – I nick named them ‘the planners’.

Then there was the girl who explained to me I needed to make it quick, they had the elevator waiting. When I purposely looked at her and frowned and slowed down, she said it in Chinese, like I would understand that better? Come to think of it, I know so little Chinese, I have no idea what she said to me!

I’ll post what I have now, and update it throughout the evening if there is anything else of note that presents itself.

Take care,
Joe

Update: 7:56pm
I wonder if some of the Asian kids don't completely understand Halloween and think that costumes are optional? That maybe this odd American 'festival' is just about knowing the secret password that get you candy? I know there are many kids in the US that show up sans-costume, but I have had 5 different sets of asian kids show up with NO attempt at custumes... perfectly nice kids, 'trick or treat' and 'thank you', but no costumes?

Update: 8:04pm
As I am putting a couple of pieces of candy in a girls bag, she bends her head over and sneezes directly on my hand... wet sneeze too, required a trip to the bathroom. That has nothing to do with being in China, but WOW, GROSS.