After
a gap of two years, Halloween has once again figured in our calendar of events
in October, thanks to Hippocampus library. The Hippocampus center’s much
awaited annual event is its Halloween party that is open to children of ages
between five and thirteen. This is when the whole library is transformed into a
Halloween house of horrors with Jack O’ Lanterns spewing out macaroni and
cheese, creepy spider-webs hanging from the ceiling, bats flying out of doors
and of course fun-filled activities and
games for kids! Having missed the Halloween party at Hippocampus the last two
years due to certain prior commitments, we were keen on Abhay attending this
one. Though Halloween is all about spooking it up and wearing scary masks, I
guess the main highlight of Halloween for kids is going around the neighborhood
“trick or treating” for candies, candies and more candies. Though we had Abhay go
trick-or treating to his grand-parents’ place in 2011 (owing to our US
returned fever!) and some mommy groups organizing
“trick-or treat” events this year ……trust me …it’s nothing like the real thing …just
like how Diwali never felt like Diwali in
the US! J
Abhay
didn’t seem to remember going “Trick-or treating” with his friends in Portland,
so we scanned through some of our old Halloween photographs taken during our US
years albeit with a hint of nostalgia as we watched out little Dalmatian turn
into Tigger and finally a Pirate Prince!
I
found a hilarious book simply titled "Halloween" written by Jerry Seinfeld (Yes…from the
famous American Sitcom “Seinfeld”) and illustrated by James Bennett. A
must-read for any Seinfeld fan, this is the master comedian’s comic take on Halloween and
what it means to kids. Seen through the eyes of a young boy (who looks like
young Seinfeld himself!), he finds it unbelievable that there is one
day in a year when everyone you know is giving out candies! Of course, he is
ready to do whatever it takes to have people give out candies! Slowly, he gets
sucked into the other trappings of Halloween, including zeroing on the
Superman Halloween costume from the store, as opposed to home-improvised costumes,
only to find that the mask suffocating him and the superman suit looking like superman
pajamas! But he soon finds out that it doesn’t matter as his mom makes him wear
his winter coat over the costume anyway (Abhay smiles his knowing smile…….as I
was even more brutal as I made him wear his money cap too!) According to Seinfeld
Junior, kids mean business when they go trick-or-treating, with no time for
small talk, no appetite for home-made treats and the best of all “you hit the
bag, they hit the road”! Having consumed
the basketful of candies, he wakes up feeling like superman…..that makes him conclude
that when you are a kid, you don’t need a costume….you are superman! Well, no
one can enjoy as unabashedly as our little supermen…isn’t it? So here’s wishing
all the supermen a very Happy Halloween!
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