Halloween…

Carving a pumpkin for Halloween


The finish project

Our little, friendly monster

Under normal circumstances, taking your seven-year-old cousin trick-or-treating on Halloween night would not be considered a partially interesting or exciting adventure, however, being in Berlin is not a normal circumstance. My Halloween evening was, to say the least, quite a horrifying, yet absolutely humorous experience! Halloween is generally not celebrated in Germany. The youth, though, know about the holiday from American TV, and like to dress-up anyways in the hope of receiving a treat from their confused neighbors.

Sdarry, my seven-year-old cousin

This past Saturday, Mina and I decided to take our seven-year-old cousin, Sdarry, out trick-or-treating. Sdarry’s father, Jens, is Antje’s older brother. He and his family (wife, Mira, step-son, Sdarry, and three-year-old, Malaika) live in Pankou, or northeastern Berlin. Their neighborhood is a series of row houses, with around ten families living in each house. This set-up is, as I am sure you can imagine, a paradise for trick-or-treaters! With plastic bag in hand, and Sdarry decked out in his adorable skeleton costume, we eagerly set off into the darkness. Innocently, I lead the way, unaware of the terrifying discoveries that lay ahead. The first house was a disaster. We rang every single doorbell on the outside of the building at least once, and not a single person answered (even though there were plenty of lights glowing inside.) The second house, as well, was horrifyingly unsuccessful.

It was not until the third house that someone decided to answer our ringing. “Hallo?” said the young voice of the woman through the speaker. Sdarry’s face lit up, “Gibt mir Sußes oder es gibt Saueres!” (Give me sweets or there will be consequences!) he said, smiling. “Was?” (What?) the woman asked, completely confused. “Gibt mir Sußes oder es gibt Saueres!” repeated Sdarry, this time a little less enthusiastically. “Es ist Halloween. Können Sie uns bitte Rein lassen?” (It is Halloween, would you mind letting us in the building?) intervened Mina. “Um, Ja, ein Moment,” replied the woman as she buzzed open the door.

Mina and Sdarry ringing the doorbells

We were in! Now all we had to do was start ringing the doorbells, and then the candy would come flying in, I thought. But this was, unfortunately, wishful thinking. Most people, again, did not answer their doors, and those who did had little idea what was going on. Obediently, though, (and sometimes quite enthusiastically) they went digging in their kitchens to find a treat for Sdarry. From the large array of goodies he received, I could tell how unprepared the Germans were for our unexpected visit. We received some very interesting treats, mainly small packages of gummy bears or chocolate bars, but also a bag of chips and a cookie from a package a woman was eating at the time. One man even offered us money, which we politely declined. Around 50% of the time no one answered. Of the 50% that answered, 75% gave us a treat while the other 25% simply said “Nein Danke,” and shut the door. More important than percentages, however, Sdarry was having a great time!

After and hour of trick-or-treating we decided to head home, and check out our goods. Dumping the plastic bag out on the wooden floor of the living room, Sdarry surveyed his hard earned treats. They consisted of: one bag of corn chips, an orange, three large chocolate bars, a chocolate Santa Clause, a box of mixed chocolates, a cookie, a disgustingly surprising collection of leftover Christmas chocolates, and a plethora of small, mixed bon-bons and chocolates. Satisfied, Sdarry ate his candy, and generously shared some of it with his sister, Mina and I. All in all, the night was deemed a success: Sdarry, Malaika, and Mina had a large bag of candy, and I had learned something about Germany, namely that most German families always have a chocolate bar on hand.

Can you spy corn chips, a chocolate Santa Clause, a box of mixed chocolates, Christmas chocolates, a bag of gummy bears, and the old woman's random cookie?