Pumpkins and Snow

October in the States definitely has a Halloweeny vibe. But in Germany, Halloween didn't gain popularity until about the last decade. In 2006 when I was here for Halloween, only the other American in my class had a costume, and we only spotted about five families with kids under the age of 5 who even went door to door Trick-or-Treating. In fact, some of the Evangelical kids of the neigbhorhood will all go to church on All Hallow's Eve, to pray and have godly fun as an alternative to Halloween, which they describe as a "pagan festival that celebrates only evil and death."

 

Regardless, Halloween is gaining momentum as a secular festival in Germany. Now in 2012, you can find many of the same types of decor that you see in the stores at home - giant coffins, plastic jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treat bags, etc. However, not many people have mastered the art of pumpkin carving!

Margit used to carve them when Fabi and Clemens were little, but never liked the mess involved. Truth be told, me neither. But since I felt that making pumpkins this year would be a fitting expression of my innate Americanness, I put in a little extra effort and chose particularly neat pumpkins at the market last week. I saved the "meat" to make a pie, and I saved the seeds, which are currently smothered in salt, garlic and curry and roasting in the oven. I carved a traditional, bright orange pumpkin for Margit and Hansi (1st photo) and a speckled orange and green variety for myself (2nd photo).

 

Fabian and I are hosting a Halloween party this year, using all the wonderful food, candy and decorations that my mother mailed to me (along with enough mac & cheese to last me a year - see photo to the left)! We had planned to have the typical camp-out style party like Lisa and I do on the Sullivan property every year, complete with Chili and roasted Snickers bars over the firepit in the garden (wait... that's Schroepfer style, not Eschbacher style). But when I woke up this morning, 3 days before Halloween, it was... snowing.
 

I will be impressed if anyone under 25 from our region of Missouri can remind me of the last time we had snow before Halloween. Two days ago I was walking around in the sun without a jacket and now our trees are icy. No wonder the Germans don't do Halloween - it already looks like Christmas!

Margit and Hansi assured me that the snow will go away, and that the forecast predicts warmer weather again. Still, it was an odd/lazy-mood-inducing surprise this morning.

So, Happy Halloween, everybody back home! Hope you enjoy your parties, costumes, and fall food. Don't take it for granted; some people will miss out a little bit this year! But I'm not complaining... you can't get 8 cans of hominy, 2 packages of black beans and pumpkin cookies in the mail and be a complainer. Haha!