halloween - the same, but different

When I first moved to California from England I was often asked about the main differences between life here and life there. I found this a difficult question to answer because apart from the obvious difference between the weather in southern California and northern England, the differences were subtle, and now I have been here for over ten years I don't even think about it until something reminds me and I feel just like Bill Bryson in his very funny book Notes from a Small Island. Today's Halloween article in the New York Times was one of those reminders.

When I grew up in England Halloween was not a big event in the same way that it is in America. It was thought of in relationship to the old Celtic idea of the living and the dead, or the Christian tradition of Allhallows Eve, but today's New York Times reported that it is really big business and Britons now spend an estimated $228 million a year on Halloween related items. This, of course, doesn't surprise me at all because sooner or later most things American are exported around the world and I believe America's ability to export this desire to be like them is one of its biggest assets and helps maintain its position as a world leader. The thing that brought the cultural differences back to my thoughts was Britons' reaction to Halloween.

The first thing was the adults. One woman said, "all they want is sweets" (what else would they want?). She was looking for something in return - the kids were not spooky, didn't sing, or charm you, they just took the candy and ran. The next thing was the children themselves. They have figured out the part of the whole event they are interested in and abandoned the rest, plus they have added anything anti-social and exciting (to them) from another great British tradition, Guy Fawkes night. Most adults are afraid of the older kids, afraid of the tricks and mostly afraid of the vandalism. The police are putting on extra patrols to deal with attacks on fences and doors, menacing gatherings of drunken youths and yes, the theft of garden ornaments! The police have also given out no-trick-or-treating posters to homeowners to fix to their homes, and 58% of homeowners surveyed said they hide in the back of their homes with the lights off pretending they are not in on Halloween.

I often wonder how this kind of thing happens. Most of the children in America seem well behaved when they go trick or treating and many younger ones are accompanied by their parents. The pumpkin carving and general festivities seem like a lot of innocent fun. Do not fear, however, that the mothers of England will not be able to deal with this in their own inventive way. For example, one mother suggested to a popular mothers' website that she might remove the cover from her doorbell, so the trick or treaters would electrocute themselves. Nice!

The most ridiculous thing is that both British and American adults living in England are unhappy with Halloween. Britons are angry about being dragged into what they interpret as the consumerist culture of the United States and Americans in Britain are annoyed that children have failed to grasp the correct protocol for Halloween, and persist on saying Happy Halloween instead of Trick or Treat, and never raise money for anyone other than themselves. One American businessman saw children in Halloween costumes walk into a London restaurant on October 29th and wander around with a collection box asking diners for money that the diners meekly handed over. He could not visualize this scene in America.

So again I ask myself what are the differences between living here and in England, and again I can only say it's the same ... but different!