Happy Halloween

The first time I arrived in New York City it was Valentine's Day. I was surprised by how seriously the city took the holiday. People wore pink to work, everything was decorated in hearts. People passing said to me "Happy Valentine's Day!"

I quickly learnt that this atmosphere was not unique to February 14th. This city knows how to do holidays. President's day, Easter, St Patrick's Day, Cinco de Mayo, 4th of July... The city gets dressed and up and city celebrates. For this reason, I was quite excited when I found out I would be in New York for Halloween.  

I was not disappointed - when I arrived, Manhattan was decked out in Halloween themed decorations. I was impressed, but I was quickly informed that the city had nothing on a real all American Halloween. In the suburbs Halloween is about kids, trick or treating, autumn leaves and pumpkin spiced lattes. In the city it's about teeny tiny costumes and too much skin. 

Friday night I stopped at Duane Reade on my way home from work. A lost looking lady called me over to help her, "Excuse me, excuse me... could you please help me pick a nail polish that would work for Halloween?" I learnt a few weeks ago that I have developed an allergy to nail polish... very funny, I know. Anyway, I'm not bitter, I helped the lady choose a ghoulish green.

I went back to my own shopping, but was quickly stopped by a man (I was starting to wonder if I was wearing the store uniform) - 

Male shopper: Excuse me, what size tights should I buy?

Me: Excuse me? 

Shopper: It's for a Halloween costume!

Me: Ah, I see...

Shopper: Do they celebrate the holiday where you are from?

Me: Not really...

Shopper: Why!?

Me: It's, er, not a real holiday..

Needless to say the conversation stopped there. I needed to get more into the spirit of things! So, on Saturday night Lizard and I forced ourselves to venture out in spite of the blizzard that hit New York. We spotted quite a few interesting costumes out on the town. My favourite was a girl dressed as Black Swan. She was really into it - she had red contacts and everything. Lizard and I saw her walk into the room and join her friends. She was quite disappointed to find that she was the only one in her group dressed up. I guess the snow was demotivating for everyone.

Monday the 31st was Halloween. Unfortunately I was down with a cold so I couldn't go out and explore. I was stuck on the couch watching Disney Halloween specials (yeah, I loved it). I did ping Noodles though with some concern - 

"Are kids going to turn up at my apartment demanding candy?" 

"No, of course not. No kid would trick or treat in Manhattan..."

I guess Manhattan is just not the place to pick up real American culture - it's still the American city for me.