Halloween in Santiago

A quick blog post on Halloween in Chile...

The concept of Halloween is relatively new to Chileans and is something that has only gained popularity in the last 5-10 years. As a result, the holiday is far less commercial than back at home and trick or treating is only common in certain areas of the city.

Although the candy selection was very narrow (mostly traditional hard candies and gummies), we loaded up on what we could find in preparation for trick or treaters - as colleagues and friends assured us that Halloween is celebrated in our neighbourhood (Vitacura). Sure enough, the trick or treaters arrived in droves starting around 6 PM - despite the fact that the sun was still high in the sky, and it was hot! A far cry from the dark, freezing Halloween nights that we're used to at home.

We hosted a dinner party with some of Alison's colleagues - a family from Houston with two boys about the same age as William and Jackson. The other mom, Karen, and I took the kids down our street to do some trick or treating... with a crowd of Chilean princesses as our guides.

The challenges trick or treating in Chile:

1) Walls: As I mentioned before, all the houses in Santiago are surrounded by high walls and gated, to prevent opportunistic intruders. As a trick or treater, this means you need to ring the gate bell and yell "Truco o dulces" ("Trick or Treat!") into the intercom, exactly when prompted, so that someone can come to open the gate and give you candy. It usually takes about 5 minutes for this process, so if the house is not participating it can be a bit of a let down.

2) Pumpkins: Pumpkins are uncommon here, at least in October. We bought a very small one at a grocery store for over the equivalent of $10 US - one if 6 that were in stock. No one has pumpkins carved on display. Also, with the gated nature of the houses, there is no place to put the pumpkin so the kids can see it from the street. We placed ours in the bushes, lit, but we don't think anyone noticed given the blaring summer sun!

3) Religion: Most Chileans are Catholic and the idea of wandering spirits and festivities of Halloween is somewhat contrary to most people's religious beliefs. The princess gang that led us around our street had changed their chant to "Angels or Candy" and gave out little cards with a picture of the Virgin Mary, because their mother did not like the concept of Halloween but didn't want to stop her kids from participating in the fun parts.

In short, like everything else here, Halloween was an education for us. Next year we will know what to expect and wear light costumes and choose different decorations, that stand out when it is light outside!

Hope you enjoy the photos of our little dragon and devil :)