Halloween
Weeks before halloween
This was my first time celebrating Halloween here in Canada. They don't celebrate Halloween in the town where I'm from in Germany, so it was really exciting for me to experience the tradition here. Weeks before Halloween, Canadians start decorating their houses. Some of the decorations are so spooky that it is worth taking an evening walk through the neighbourhoods at dusk to admire the creative displays. Many people place life-size skeletons, fake corpses or carved pumpkins in their yards, adding to the eerie atmosphere and making each house look like a scene from a horror film.
The Costume Surprise
In our house, we decided to choose costumes by drawing names: each of us drew a name and secretly bought a costume for that person. We didn't know what we were going to wear on Halloween, which made it all the more fun. There are even special shops here, like Spirit Halloween, that open just for Halloween and have a huge range of costumes – from scary to funny. I ended up with a costume of Sandy from SpongeBob. Unlike in Germany, people here dress up in funny costumes, although most still opt for scary ones.
Trick-or-Treating and Candy
Of course, Halloween wouldn't be complete without sweets. Popular treats include things like candy corn or gummy bears shaped like brains and eyeballs, which are especially popular with children. We tried them all but agreed that candy corn wasn't our favourite.
On the afternoon of Halloween, there will be lots of costumed children out trick-or-treating, so make sure you have plenty of candy and are ready to answer the door. Otherwise, your house might get egged!
Halloween Night
In the evening, we were invited to a house party with a lively mix of Germans and Canadians. It was a fantastic night and around midnight many of us continued the celebration by heading out to the clubs and bars of Nanaimo.
