Sunday, October 31, 2010

Halloween in Beirut, 2010

We found out from other families that there isn’t really any organized trick or treating here. Apparently there was a few years back around the faculty housing apartments, but it got so out of hand that now the guards don’t allow people to do it. So instead of trick or treating, we made it a special day for the boys. We had a fun Halloween lunch. I made busted eyeballs (eggs) and ghost toast, among other things. While we were having lunch we noticed two hearses pull up in the alley behind our house by the hospital, and two coffins were brought out and placed in the cars, that soon after left again. The boys watched, interested, bewildered, and wondered if it was a Halloween stunt; although it most certainly was not, it was definitely a seasonal coincidence.

In the afternoon we took the boys to the Michel El Murr stadium to play laser tag with their friends. For 25,000LL per boy per hour, they got to wear glow-in-the-dark laser gear with a laser gun, divide into teams, and run around in a dark room with padded walls and fight battles, shooting at each other (I know; my boys thought they had died and gone to boy-heaven!). When an orange player hit a green player, it registered on the score keeping board on the wall. It was nicely organized, and there was always a guy on the room with the kids to help them figure out the game. As you can imagine, my boys had an absolute blast! When we got home they ate the candy I had got them while watching “A Nightmare Before Christmas,” and we had dinner and cake. It wasn’t your regular hallows eve, but everyone had a good day.

Tomorrow, All Saints Day, we will go through our books on Saints, as well as remember our passed loved ones. If we were in Sweden we would go to the cemetery and put candles out on my father’s and grandparents’ graves. I always enjoyed it when I was little – in the evening the cemetery would look like an ocean of lit candles, flickering in the dark, crisp cold fall night, representing all the dead and their souls, ascended. Here in Beirut, far away, we’ll light a candle after dinner, and send a special thought.

1 comment:

  1. Cute idea to make pepper-lanterns! My friends in the UAE said they finally found a pumpkin...for THIRTY dollars. They did not buy it.

    I was telling Andrew we're going to have to see if we can learn to grow pumpkins indoors. We'd make a killing once we're back in the ME! :)

    Happy Halloween!

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