My Halloween in France

In previous years I was hardly grateful or appreciative of Halloween. It was something I took for granted. Although in France some of the traditions of the holiday are gaining popularity, it is all still very foreign to them in general. When I explained to the girls how every year as a kid I had gone from house to house in my neighborhood getting candy, dressed up in a costume, saying “Trick or treat!,” their eyes were wide-open in amazement. “Really?” When I talked to the their grandmother (a native Parisian, born and bred) about the concept of Halloween, she was disdainful; “trop commerciale,” she decried. If I was living in the US I would have agreed. But being abroad has made me nostalgic for the fun-hearted traditions and celebrations of good old Americana.

So we decided to throw our very own Halloween party. That is, we decorated the house and then the girls had all their friends over for an afternoon.

The preparations the day before were quite the affair: we baked spice cookies in the shape of pumpkins and witches’ hats, and to add something really special to all the other party décor of black and orange streamers and garlands and fake cobwebs…we carved a jack-o-lantern!

In fact, it was the very first time they had done it, so when we finally sawed around the top of the pumpkin and pulled off its hat, they were surprised to see all the guts that were inside. Ar’s reaction was “Déguelasse!” (That’s disgusting!) She retreated over to the next room, complaining that it smelled bad. Her disgust deepened a couple minutes later when she observed me scooping out the seeds with my bare hands. “How can you do that?” she cried; never mind that I had done it ever since I was little.

Luckily we found a book at the town library to use for ideas and inspiration, and that is where we also found our party menu. Here it is, in French, with English translations and explanations following down below. The explanations are important because otherwise it doesn’t sound too appetizing!

MENU des FRISSONS
Menu of Shivers

Entrées

Yeux de Chauves-Souris Variés
Varied bat eyes
(A mix of black and green olives)

Champignons du Bois des Sorcières
Mushrooms from Witches’ Woods
(Mushrooms)

Plats

Les Vers d’Égout
Worms from the Sewer
(Spaghetti with pesto sauce)

Boulettes de Crapaud au Jus de Vampire
Toad pellets with vampire juice
(Meatballs and tomato sauce)

Desserts

Bave Gelée de Limaces d’Égout
Frozen Slime of Sewer Slugs
(Vanilla ice cream)

Crottes de Chauve-souris Momifiées
Mummified bat droppings
(Chocolate fudge sauce)

Our pumpkin in progress