Chinese Halloween???

Purple Octopus!

 As you might expect, the Chinese don’t celebrate Halloween. But it is an excuse for all the expats to get together, dress up the children, having a party and trick or treat at each others’ homes. And there is the added element of seeing the expressions on the Chinese faces as a pack of young witches-devils-ghosts lǎowài walk by.

Katrin and Clare working at the NIS Autumn Fest

After last year’s Halloween Amelia declared “next year I want to be an octopus” and, Amelia being Amelia, when the time came this year and we asked her what she wanted to be she said “I told you, I am going to be an octopus.” So Katrin did what she does and fashioned a great octopus costume. The first Halloween party at her school didn’t go so well as Amelia was a bit freaked at anyone wearing a scary mask. And the first trick-or-treating house didn’t go so well either as the German couple that answered the door went a little overboard…eerie music playing, the wife creeping out of the corner of the porch in a witch costume, and the husband growling from inside the house. Amelia claimed she was done trick-or-treating after that, although we enticed her to a few more homes with the lure of waiting candy. Next year will hopefully be a little smoother, although by then maybe it will be Tristan’s turn, since this year's lion wasn't too cowardly.