Hallowe'en

Four days ago, I got my kids all gussied up and ready for Hallowe'en; I did it excitedly and happily, with the memories of last year still warming me. Last year was the first Hallowe'en that I recall ever enjoying. No kidding. I never really like Hallowe'en when I was a kid. I could never come up with a cool costume. I didn't have any siblings or neighbourhood friends to trick or treat with. I've never liked candy. Hallowe'en just never fit me the way it seemed to slip so easily onto my friends.

So it was with great surprise that I so enjoyed the holiday last year. Maïa was decked out in her elephant costume and Sol in her dragon pyjamas, and we headed out into the cold, with the idea that we'd go to a handful of houses and come back home. Maïa was so into the whole process — and who wouldn't be? strangers giving you goodies? cool! We went up two and a half (long) blocks and tnt'ed the way back, too.

And the whole time, there were kids everywhere, running up and down the sidewalks in all manner of costumes. Parents lagging behind, some alone, some in small groups, chatting with each other. Everyone smiling at each other and commenting on how cute our kids were. We got to meet our neighbours and say hello, happy Hallowe'en. They opened their doors to us, pouring out the warm glow of their home beyond the door, pouring out their generosity in the form of mini candy bars and tiny bags of chips and smiles and laughter.

This Hallowe'en morning, when I was bringing Maïa to daycare with Solanne in toe, people walking down the busy sidewalk, who would normally just step aside and not make eye-contact, looked at my girls in their costumes and smiled. Some commented. And when we arrived at the daycare, I was excited to see what each child was wearing, and I chatted with parents and we rolled our eyes together as we noted all the girls in princess costumes and all the boys in super hero attire.

I began to realise, for the first time, how important shared rituals and holidays are. This little holiday, where we get our children dressed up in their favourite costumes, brings us all together. Suddenly, instead of rushing out of the daycare, we parents take a few minutes to chat, and we perceive our similarities (oh, she changed her mind about the costume at the last minute, too!) instead of our obvious differences. Strangers take the time to smile, to stop, to talk. Their memories of their own Hallowe'ens past or of their own children similarly dressed that day, draw them nearer to us, even for a moment.