What a difference a year makes. Halloween has taken over Poland. More parties, more candy, more decorations and did I mention more parties? I feel so special, as if it were all just for me. Maybe I should have been Narcissus for Halloween instead of a pirate.
If you recall, I had mixed feelings about Halloween last year here in Poland. As I have stated many times, I do not desire to import Halloween to Poland. I just want to share my childhood holiday with my half-Polish/half-American children. Traditions give our lives meaning, don’t you think?
Last year, Lizzie’s class at pre-school was the only group to celebrate Halloween and the only reason they celebrated Halloween at all was because we taught a Halloween lesson as requested by the teacher. Our lesson was a big hit complete with a story book, and art project and even learning a few basic but essential Halloween phrases in English such as “boo”, “pumpkin” and “trick or treat”. It was a lot of fun, but one family didn’t think so and took their child out of the classroom for this lesson.
I wonder what those parents did this year because Lizzie’s pre-school is bursting with Halloween. The whole school is decorated and they had a big, organized party on Friday. Even the “lunch ladies” dressed up. As the sign says “Hapy Halloween” everyone!
Here is one decoration from pre-school that we particularly liked…(bravo to the teachers)…
…and here is our home version. It is an easy peasy Halloween “pillow”. You need a brown paper bag, some paint, crayons or chalk, some glue or staples and some old newspaper to stuff inside.
On the radio today they were talking about the origins of Halloween and whatnot. It seems Halloween is not so far away from Polish traditions according to the guest. They also talked about what to do if some little scary creatures show up on your doorstep this evening – trick-or-treating protocol, so to speak. Many people called in to say that they are prepared for trick-or-treaters with bowls of candy on stand-by. Other people called in to say that it is a borrowed holiday and kind of artificial to celebrate it. One guy stated that he doesn’t have anything for the kids and he will choose the trick if need be. Oh, how I was dreaming about this very guy as child. I never once encountered a house without a treat. How I dreamed about playing a trick, just once. Kids in Poland will get the chance I never had. Kids, make it a good one!
We had a party as usual and now our tradition stands 3 years long. We not only had a party at home, but we also went trick-or-treating. That is part of the Halloween celebration that I need help with and once again for the third year in a row, our neighbors rocked. Thank you neighbors for making our day.
I am a very scary pirate and Rosie is a very scary dinosaur
Lizzie as a very scary skeleton
another scary friend
we begin our trick-or-treating
Hey Mister, where’d you go?…to the kitchen to get the candy
Misiu as a very flamboyant pirate
refreshments for the guests – spider eggs and eyeball soup
then all the little scary creature went to sleep and we could rest
No Comments
b.
November 1, 2011 at 1:08 pmI was able to give out all my candy yesterday, ok, just a few little chocolate bars were left. my girlfriend from Poland is visiting right now, so it was kind of fun to watch her watch the kids – normally Halloween is not my favourite event. although with age and exposure here, I may be becoming mellower… watch me – next year I will be bursting with excitement way before it starts…
Robin
November 1, 2011 at 1:18 pmSo wonderdful! We were visited by many ghosts, pirates, wizards and warriers yesterday. And still remember stuffing the umbrella cover to make a kitty-cat tail for my son Benjamin… So good your children have a chance to experience this holiday.
Stardust
November 1, 2011 at 1:21 pmI love your costumes!!! Very creative, and I like the fun of Halloween. I spend a day with my friend in Chelsea Market, there were lots of fun for kids and adults.
czarownica
November 1, 2011 at 3:14 pmSame as Star – love your costumes:)
Lois B
November 1, 2011 at 3:30 pmEveryone looks fabulous! Love the spider eggs.
Unknown
November 1, 2011 at 10:51 pmThe paper bag pumpkins and your eyeball soup rock!
Kasia
November 2, 2011 at 3:35 amI was hoping to see the police officer:) Great looking costumes, decorations and food! I should convert my deviled eggs into spider eggs next time I make them.
Chris
November 2, 2011 at 7:13 pmb.- We didn't get into the Halloween spirit until we had children. I am so happy to share Halloween with them. We, unfortunately, do not have any chocolate left :(Robin – Except for our banda, nobody visited us. That's ok, the kids ate the trick-or-treaters' candy too :)Stardust – The costumes were all store bought. We are not very crafty around here. When I was at college, I loved to spend Halloween at work at the mall. The kids would trick or treat the stores and then mill around outside. So nice.Czar – Thanks :)Lois B- I cannot take credit for the spider eggs. That is the traditional Halloween dish of our neighbor.Bee- I also loved the paper bag idea. I am thinking about some paper bag decorations for Thanksgiving too. The eyeball soup was also the doings of my neighbor 🙂 She's very crafty and creative.Kasia – The police officer costume made an appearance at pre-school. Lizzie decided to be something scary at home 🙂