Halloween

Unfortunately the internet (and most of the electricity) has been down all week, which is why I'm late in making this post. That said, last weekend was Halloween! My favorite Holiday!

When I first arrived in Ghana, I was a little sad to find out they didn't celebrate Halloween. Most people don't even know what it is. This really surprised me. I just assumed Halloween was like Christmas or New Years--something the whole world could appreciate--or at least something they know about. And since Halloween's my favorite celebration of the year, the fact that I would miss out was a little sad.

Anyway, fast forward a few weeks, and enter John and Becks, my new British friends. They're volunteering here in Ghana, and have been making the rounds of various beach towns every weekend. Thank goodness to all the undead, John and Becks were invited (and invited me) to a Halloween party in Busua, a beachfront town in the western coast.

Kerstin and I headed down to the beach Friday night with very little idea of what to dress as, but as with any awesome Halloween costume, inspiration came at the eleventh hour. We dressed as an evil Doctor (Kerstin) and her dead patient (me).


I guess we were actually really scary though, because as we walked down the street to the party, people actually ran away from us. When we were joined by John and Becks (also in costume), the situation was just too much and people (adults, definitely not the children, who remained cowered in the shadows) stopped us to ask about this "Halloween."

I tried to focus on the Christian ties of the holiday. My explanation went something like this:

All Hallow's Eve precedes All Souls' Day (Nov 1). The night before All Souls' Day, all the souls rise from the dead and walk among the living, trying to bring company back with them to their graves. The only way to avoid their plot is to disguise yourself as a ghoul so they'll overlook you. I tried to bring Trick Or Treat into the story by telling the villagers they could appease the undead by throwing candy at them, but no one threw any Mars Bars my way. Anyway, they did seem fairly satisfied with my explanation, so off we proceeded to the site of the party.

Amazing Coincedence? Just as we finished the stairs and staggered (we were going all out) in to the party, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" came on. Perfect. Kerstin and I won the costume contest as well.

Hooray Halloween!