Spooky Halloween around the world.

holly — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:48:09 +0000

Here in North America Halloween rocks. We have a commercially-successful excuse to dress up, trick or treat, do crazy things (”but Officer, it was Halloween!”), set off illegal fireworks, sing Monster Mash far too loudly and eat the junk food we spend the rest of the year trying to remove from our waistline. Personally, I can’t survive the day unless I’ve heard Michael Jackson’s Thriller at least three times - something I don’t think will be a problem this year. In the US it’s now the second most popular holiday for decorating after only Christmas. But if you think we can party, you should check out how they do it in other countries.

Scotland gave us one of the great traditions we over here have stolen/corrupted/commercialized into our standard Canadian holiday. Little Scots used to carry traditional lanterns called Samhnag’s made out of turnips with the devil’s face carved into them in order to scare away evil spirits. Nowadays they’ve switched to pumpkins for their jack-o-lanterns, mainly because it’s waaay easier to carve a pumpkin than a turnip, but some cities, such as Perthshire, are trying to reinstate the old ways. Hopefully vandals don’t go around blowing up turnips like pumpkins are blown up here, as a turnip can do so much more damage since they don’t smush and splatter on impact!

In Wales Halloween is called Nos Calan Gaeaf (the beginning of a new winter) and legend has it that the fearsome spirit Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta took the form of a tailless black sow and roamed the countryside with a headless woman. Needless to say, kids would rush home early. This fascinates me, mainly because I have no idea how to pronounce Yr Hwch Ddu Gwta. It’s hard enough to type correctly. Your how-itch do-doo g-wah-ta? Beats the hell out of me, but it’s fun to try.

Halloween in Mexico is just the start of three days of festivities, Witches Night (Halloween), All Saints Day and Dia de los Muertos (the day of the dead). I mean, really, why shouldn’t the dead get to party, too? Skulls play a huge part in these rituals, as wooden skulls are placed on alters dedicated to the deceased, sugar skulls made with late relatives’ names on the foreheads are eaten, and they dance to honor the dead while wearing wooden skull masks called calacas. Sugar and dancing? How have we not started celebrating this yet? Sweet.

Romanians have the perfect reason to celebrate Halloween, as Dracula himself, according to myth, lived right there in Transylvania (specifically the town of Sighisoara – another one I’m not going to try and pronounce). Dracula’s spirit is believed to live here, as the city once was the site of public Witch trials (it makes sense to keep all your spooky dead people together, right?) which are recreated by actors amidst all the costume parties. Can you just imagine getting pissed drunk and watching a live “Witch trial”? Neither can I.

In Lebanon, Syria and the Palestine don’t actually celebrate Halloween, but Arab Christians hold Eid Il-Burbara (Saint Barbara’s Day) on Dec 4th instead. The festivities are nearly identical to the Halloween we know and love here, and include wearing costumes, trick or treating and singing a Halloween song. No, not Monster Mash, though I would love to hear that in Arabic. Similarly, Kuwait and other Gulf states have Qarqe’an. It’s not scary, but children wear traditional costumes and sing outside homes for handouts of candy and nuts. There it’s actually cool to get nuts, and if you give them out you don’t have to worry about your house being egged later that night!

And then there’s Japan. There actually is no Halloween per se in Japanese culture, but think about it, do you really think they would pass up a chance to dress up in weird clothes (or weirder clothes) and celebrate? Their Halloween is based mainly on American pop culture, but it has really caught on and I personally would love to see it. Carved pumpkins are a common sight and Disneyland and Universal Studios over there have huge festivities leading up to the big day. A few years ago I was in Disneyland Paris just before Halloween, and the decorations were massive, with everything from a troupe of life-sized pumpkin men taking over Frontierland to the riverboat in the rivers of the far west being turned into a giant floating gray ghost, but apparently the decorations and theming in the Tokyo park are twice as impressive.

There are many reasons fall is one of my favorite times to travel, but if you really want a show, check out some of these countries and I’m sure you’ll have yourself a bewitching good time. There’s just something about Halloween that makes we want to end this blog with a big Mad-Scientist cackle. So i will.

Mmmmwwwwwaaaahaaahahahahahhahaha!

Paris – They put their money in the left bank.

holly — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:33:14 +0000

Last year a friend and I were able to experience Paris when it sizzles as part of a Globus week in London and Paris package. Our hotel was on the left bank of the Seine, steps from the spectacular Eiffel Tower and numerous metro lines.

While our leader (who delighted in pointing out pickpockets and the exact spot where Princess Diana died) warned that the Metro was a confusing, potentially dangerous way to travel, we found it cheap, fast and easy, as well as being a great source of entertainment. Buskers perform right on the trains, playing guitars or wheeling around Karaoke machines, complete with large amplifiers and microphones.

Within hours of arriving in Paris we had ascended the Arc de Triomphe (shorter than expected, but halfway up the stairs you begin to think it’s huge), strolled the Champs Elysses and people watched at a charming little sidewalk bistro.

A half day bus tour was included in the package the next morning and it was great, complete with a guided tour through the dirt-stained glory of Notre Dame, and a ride up to the first floor of the Eiffel Tower.

The tour dropped us off at a perfumerie near the Opera House (of Phantom of the Opera fame) for an optional shopping trip, but we chose to break away from the pack and take the RER rapid train to Disneyland Paris so we could compare it with the one in California. When the tour leader found out where we were going, he actually turned up his nose at us and refused to speak with either of us for the remainder of the trip.

Paris was in the middle of an unseasonable October heat wave and I was thankful for the pair of shorts I had packed at the last minute. It felt, though, as if I was the only person in the country wearing them, as I got lots of stares and a street vendor followed me down the Rue de Rivoli making unsettling kissing sounds. The Louvre heated up quickly, it’s only source of air-conditioning being large grates in the floor, and groups of tourists battled to stand on top to escape the oppressive heat.

Our finale in Paris was enjoying a lunch of baguettes and cheese on the banks of the Seine, followed by a nighttime boat tour of the City of Lights. The Eiffel Tower literally sparkled, a surreal sight that just makes you smile and realize “this is Paris.”

A city of history leaning up against a modern world, I still see that glittering tower when I close my eyes – awesome enough to make dealing with the snooty tour leader worth it.

Originally published in the Vancouver Province

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Spooky Halloween around the world.

Paris – They put their money in the left bank.