A small musing....

On Halloween... it was with interest that I noted the article in the NZ Herald covering the trick or treat episode in South Auckland on October 31st;  "darling" children (older) threatening homeowners who did not produce treats with damage both bodily and to property. I thought it worthwhile to note our first real experience with the same here in Doha.

Families tend to live in compounds.  Many compounds are heavily weighted towards the oil companies and as a result are rather American.  Teagan and I were invited to a compound to experience the real American trick or treat event with some American friends, the offer we took up with alacrity (well Teagan much more so than me).  The event was extremely well organised.  It constituted households phoning the organiser with an agreement to participate, following which a flag was tied to the outside of the house and the front door light was on and, in most cases, well decorated with scary themes.  Children assembled outside the clubhouse and participated in a competition for the scariest outfit (by age-group) and thankfully only one won per group (none of this "we are all winners" rubbish).  Then the children took off - I really mean took off.  It was wonderful to see most of the children being polite and saying the traditional rhyme "trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat" but generally garnishing it with a please and thank-you.  Clearly the tradition is well embraced and in this instance, well managed, so was a pleasure to participate in.

Within New Zealand the tradition is not yet embraced by the community - therefore the news reports that I have heard display a one-way greed with no consideration towards the generosity of the "giver".

Now as a side note, I did hear on Radio NZ that the spend on Halloween in the US comes only second to Christmas - my assumption is that this statistic probably applies to the decorations and the vast quantity of treats that are handed out - VAST!