Hallo = Hello
Wien [VEEN] = Vienna
Hallo + Wien = Halloween... well, kinda.
Before we moved to Vienna, we were told by a few different people that Halloween isn't celebrated here. I wasn't too sad, actually, that for the next few years, we wouldn't have to deal with the loads of candy (and tummyaches) that come with a successful evening of Halloween Trick or Treating. I've never been a huge Halloween fan - even though dressing up can be fun at times.
However, just about the time the weather starting getting cooler, and October was fast approaching, people around here started talking about Halloween. Confused, I asked several Austrians if they really do celebrate Halloween, and I got mixed messages. Some of them answered positively - with an attitude of, "Of course we celebrate Halloween! Why woulnd't we?" Others said, "Nah. Halloween is too American. We don't do that here."
All in all, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was very curious to find out. So naturally, when I found out that Addie's class was going to have a Halloween Party, I signed up to be a volunteer to see just how an Austrian second grade class celebrates Halloween. (Unfortuneatly Cooper's teacher is not a fan of Halloween, so they did not get a party. This was the case in about half of the classrooms at the school. Can you imagine, the injustice?!)
Addie's class party was very well done. The teachers had gone to great extents and put up elaborate decorations, and set up about 7 different Halloween activity stations between three different classrooms! They turned out the lights, lit candles and told spooky stories. Then they made bats out of socks, painted treat bags, made jack-o-lantern paper dolls and balloon ghosts, and played mummy bowling. I was in charge of the Spooky "Feel and Squeal" room - where they had to put their hands in mystery boxes and try to guess what spooky item was hidden inside. There was also more halloween treats than anyone could eat, and Halloween candy to boot. The party whent for about 2 and half hours! Judging from this class party alone, I would say Vienna for sure knows how to celebrate Halloween.
Now - here's a difference I noticed. Out of all the kids (and teachers) that dressed up, Addie was one of 2 kids that didn't have a "spooky" costume on. She dressed up as a ballerina, and one of her American friends was dressed up as Elsa. Everyone else was either a skeleton (I counted at least 10), a zombie, or a witch of some sort. A definite difference from the world of superheros and princesses that I am accustomed to.
Okay - so fastforward a couple days after the party, and now it's Halloween. The kids were in the middle of a four-day weekend, and they had spent time at the Zoo and the Aquarium - but not much had been said about Halloween. I glanced online to see if I could find any Halloween activities for kids in Vienna, but the only thing that I could find is a long list of adult clubs that were hosting late night "get smashed" Halloween parties. I really didn't have any plans, and Eric was in charge of helping out with the Youth Halloween Dance at the church for the whole evening. Part of me felt kind of guilty that I didn't have any plans for a fun Halloween night for the kids (because for sure, Trick-or-treating in our neighborhood doesn't exist), but part of me felt relieved at the same time.
About 3:00 in the afternoon, however, a friend from the ward emailed me and invited us up to her neighborhood to go trick or treating. This friend lives in the 19th district, very near the American International School (AIS), on the outskirts of Vienna, along with probably 90% of all the Americans that live in Vienna. In other words, the 19th district, is essentially little America. It sounded fun, so I asked my kids - "Kids, do you want to go trick or treating tonight?" ... I'm sure you can guess how they responded...
"YAAAAAAY!!!"
Now that we officially had trick or treating plans, we had to come up with some costumes! Addie was easy, she pulled out a Rapunzel dress-up dress, and grabbed the long braids princess hat that Grandma Kathy made her a few years back. Cooper decided he wanted to be a pencil - a costume that I bought at a garage sale a few years ago (I wore it last year, actually) - so we just had to make him a pencil tip hat. Easy. Tucker decided he wanted to be a ghost. I found a white body pillow case, and made an adorable ghost costume in no time flat, but after a few minutes of walking around looking out of two little holes cut in the case, he decided he didn't want to be a ghost anymore. With not many options left, we turned to the pajama drawer. Thank goodness for superhero pajamas! Tucker dressed up like Superman, and Tyler made an adorable Batman. It's amazing how much more "costume-like" superhero pajamas can be when you add snow boots and a cape! Voila! We were ready to go Trick-or-Treating!
We made the hour-long journey out to the 19th district first by street train, then U-bahn (subway), followed by a long bus ride. At first, we didn't see anyone dressed up, and Cooper the Pencil started feeling a little sheepish in his cone hat. We got lots of looks, for sure. But as soon as we arrived in the 19th district, we saw hoards and hoards of trick-or-treaters walking up and down the streets. Little kids, all dressed-up walking with their parents, being coaxed along to each door. And bigger kids, with scary masks on running from house to house with pillowcases full of candy... It felt just like home. The kids squealed with delight. We had finally found Halloween!
We made our way up the hill, trick-or-treating a long the way, until we met up with our friend. She said she was about to go to the AIS Halloween Party and invited us to come along. When we walked onto the school grounds, it seriously felt (and sounded) like we were at a school in back in the States. It was surreal to hear that much American English all in one place! And the place was packed!
They had a huge trunk or treat, with amazingly decorated trunks. Tyler got the hang of it really quickly and went to each car and held open his bag to the person handing out candy. Being one of the smallest people there, he got lots of attention. He was most exccited when he recieved lollipops, and would stop and excitedly show me whenever he got one. Cooper, Addie and Tucker made their way easily throught the crowd of Trunk-or-treaters, and each pulled in a decent haul of candy.
We made our way up the hill to the giant indoor gymnasium. Inside was every typical Halloween activity you could think of - Face painting, Haunted House, Bouncy House, pumpkin bowling, bean bag toss, and more... Each one associated with a candy prize. The kids had a blast. Tyler danced to the music the whole time. Cooper and Addie got sufficiently scared in the Haunted House. Tucker was surprised that his buddy Ezra showed up. I saw several other people from the ward, and enjoyed speaking and listening so easily to perfect strangers in my own language. It was a great way to spend Halloween. The "American" way.
On the way home, we saw a lot more people dressed up - Adults, that is, dressed like skeletons, zombies, and gouhls... headed out to clubs to party and get smashed. So, I guess Vienna does celebrate Halloween... just a little different that we are used to. No worries though, we know how to party, hardy, the good ole fashion way...
Happy Hallo-Wien 2014!!