Halloween in Shanghai (The Ghost of Halloweens Past)

Thinking about our fun American Halloween season made me think of last Halloween. It was our Halloweens in Shanghai.

In 2008 we went to an art gallery Halloween party and then to a bar with some friends. 

William was a Lumber Jack.

I was a Chinese Gymnast. It was the year of the Beijing Olympics so it made sense that year. (That's my fake Chinese Passport that says I'm 16... in crayon.)

In 2009 Rosie was only a week and some days old, so we didn't go any where. Rosie was Tigger.

In 2010 we were Mummies.

We were just about to move back to the States so most of our stuff was packed and on the slow boat to the US. So William bought a bunch of medical gauze and we just wrapped out selves up. 

It was SO hard to get a taxi that night. People looked quite nervously at us. I think they thought we were actually hurt or sick or something. When we were walking down the street we got some pretty funny and scared looks.

Rosie was a cute little mummy.

So serious.

Halloween is NOT celebrated in China and few people have even heard of it. I learned the Chinese name for the holiday but most people just looked at me funny when I told them why we were dressed up.

 Some of our younger friends had heard about it on TV or online and thought it sounded very strange. But they were also interested in celebrating with us and having a new American experience.

A friend of ours hosted a Halloween "Cultural Exchange" Party. She gave a presentation about Halloween and the Celtic history of it as well as modern traditions, like costumes, trick or treating and pumpkin carving. Then we all carved pumpkins.

These are the pumpkins carved. I think they turned out really well for being the first time they had ever done it.

It was a great Halloween. It was fun to share the child like fun that Halloween can be with people who were excited to do the things for for the first time.  It was also a really fun way to say good bye to some old friends.