It was a chance for our club members to meet new people, speak some English, and participate in a cultural activity.It is my understanding that Japanese people don’t celebrate Halloween. I’m interested to see what, if anything happens on the 31st. It’s difficult enough trying to find a decent pumpkin to carve in this city. The one I bought for myself was fairly small – about the size of a small cantaloupe, and it was green. Some of the students managed to find orange pumpkins, and one set of students found a giant of a pumpkin – maybe the largest I’ve ever seen?
It’s an odd thing, carving up a pumpkin to resemble some kind of monster face – or is this what we try to create? I realized very quickly that I am no expert in the tradition of old Hallow’s Eve – I’m not even sure if this term is appropriately applicable to the holiday. Maybe holiday isn’t even the right word – maybe we should call it a celebration of sorts? As for the origins of the day (for lack of a better word), I’m not sure anyone really knows. People have explained the history of Halloween to me, only to have other people discredit these explanations in favour of other ones, who in turn are discredited by others. It’s been explained as a day associated with Christianity; a day celebrating the dead, or the dying, or the raising of the dead; there are witches associated with Halloween as well.
Some questions that I wasn’t quite sure how to answer: what is my jack-o-lantern supposed to look like? Do eat lots of pumpkin in Canada? Why don’t you eat very much pumpkin in Canada?
The students did well carving their pumpkins and they looked really good when we lit the candles. Although a vice principle got a bit concerned when he say us playing with fire outside. For some reason knives weren’t a problem though.
Carve a pumpkin in a foreign country: check that off of life’s to-do list.
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